


Beachcombing for Iron

by dweller_of_roots (OldSleepy)



Category: Lighthouse: The Dark Being
Genre: Complete, F/M, Gen, Poor Attempts at Witty Banter, Sex, Thoughts about the End of the World, adaption, after the end
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-18
Updated: 2014-07-22
Packaged: 2017-12-05 17:30:57
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 30,339
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/725941
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OldSleepy/pseuds/dweller_of_roots
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What you're about to read is a story based off the excellent old Sierra adventure game, Lighthouse: the Dark Being. </p><p>A year ago or so, I discovered that Alien Arcana over at the archive did a let's play of the game - and was awash in all the good memories. Figured now was as good a time as any to write a story in commemoration of all that. If you're just here for porn, buckle up for a bit . And if you actually like the game, like I do - don't let my gendering of the protagonist as a dude stop you from writing your own stories. One of the perks of games like this was that the protagonist could be pretty much anyone, or anything - I just choose to write 'em as a dude because it's what I'm familiar with. That out of the way - please enjoy, and thanks for reading.</p><p>I've done my best to make the story as lonely and soul-searching as the original game 'felt' without getting into melodrama. There's sex and a lot of talking - but I believe those add to the story, not detract from it. Whether I succeeded or not - that's your call. But I very much enjoyed writing this, and I hope it may have some of the significance for you as it does for me.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Beachcombing for Iron

Outside my house, the waves lapped quietly against the shore. The sun - bright and cheerful against the sky - was trying it's best to remind me that it was twelve in the morning, and I should be awake. My brain did it's damndest to rebel against the cruel sun and insist that, since it was already afternoon, I could be forgiven for dropping everything and going back to bed - but despite having strained until the late hours of the evening night, no words had come to my mind, and my manuscript - the one that was supposed to free me from financial worry and earthly cares - remained a glimmer in my typewriter's eye.

The sun won out. With a sigh, I rose to my feet and grabbed clothes to hide my naked villainy. A shirt that was too old and something my aunt had sent me; it was too large and fell around me like a blanket, but due to my laundry machine being broken it was also the only clean article I had. The logo of some corporation long since discolored by the wistful sea air stared from between grey stripes at me, dolefully reminding me I should probably be working. I ignored it, and started looking for boxers. A few minutes later, I had the good fortune of finding some that weren't too embarrassing. Most were leftovers from half a term of college ended by the sudden news of my mother's passing.

It'd probably been that and Aunt Thelma that'd convinced me to start writing, in between odd jobs at the coast. Well, Thelma hadn't been out to convince me per se - but her heart was in the right place, and I had enough time while working at the Pier Fifteen to start churning out a few short stories - though the ones that hadn't been rejected hadn't contributed back quite as much as I would've hoped, land here wasn't expensive for whatever reason. Probably Jeremiah and his eccentricities keeping buyers away. Grinning a little, I wondered if I should call him, maybe see how the resident mad scientist was doing and check on Amanda, who'd recently celebrated her fifth birthday.

... The party consisted pretty much of me, Dr. Krick, and the kid. I kind of wanted to call a few of my old friends from the city who had children of their own over - but Mandy seemed perfectly happy to just be with her father. I guess isolation is something people instinctively crave out here in the boonies - but as I tried to do up my belt through pants that had seen better days, the thought made me remember someone who didn't really have much of a choice. Liryl. We - hadn't spoken much after the end. I'd come home the doc without really saying so much as goodbye. I'd felt guilty at the time - made excuses. We all like being by ourselves, right? And she had machines and countless archives to browse through. I know I would give pretty much anything to spend hours looking through digitalized books, or whatever you'd call that... Wouldn't anyone?

So much you'd be happy being completely alone, with a machine that had - not so long ago, tried to kill you - as your only company?

Frustrated with myself, I gave up on trying to find a tie and stared into the mirror. Grey eyes, far too tired to be healthy, looked back at me. I could've at least said to the doctor that I had business to take care of. For all I know, he hadn't met Liryl - or any of the priests, when they'd been alive. Just that dead inventor - another reminder to the barren nature of the other realm. Fingers tapping irritably against my stubble, I silenced the drone of my angry thoughts by listening to the drone of my angry messages.

"You've been late again."

A voice, so impossibly dripping with loathing that it couldn't be anyone but my editor.

"Tell me, is it standard practice for writers to withold access from their manuscripts? If you're worried about quality, don't worry. I'll be ever so glad to relieve you of that the moment you call my office - you know, if you planned to call my office. I have plenty of clients, you know; there is nothing stopping me from - " I deleted the message, perhaps too hastily. He was right, of course. I should've sent something, anything to the office - but half of my book remained essentially incomplete, pages shorn of anything besides ideas half-lifted from my jaunts in the other world, half from my dreams. And the two did not flow together, not in the slightest.

The next message was a little more pleasing to the ear - the quiet, perpetually calm voice of Dr. Krick.

"My friend - it has been some time since we have talked. I know we both enjoy our isolation - but there is such thing as too much rest. If money is an issue - "

Money was always an issue, but not so bad I couldn't treat a friend and his kid down at the Pier. The place was a bit of a greasy spoon - but the staff were friendly, the food was good (and affordable) and he was right. Really right. Sometimes, if you can't focus on one thing - it's best to distract yourself. I didn't want to think about Liryl -

Huh, that was weird. I don't want to think about my writing, I go see Dr. Krick. An easy solution to my problem. Maybe a talk with Jeremiah gets me thinking again, and I churn out a sci-fi story; something easily marketable, with one of those truly atrocious covers that just screams 'written by an unrepetant hack'! Hell yeah. Grinning a little, I finished the message, and reached for my hand-bag. It had gotten me a few strange looks, but caring about what other people think isn't what brought me out to the cliffs. And besides - it made me remember mom, maybe dad - a little, anyway.

And you never know when you're going to need a big, spacious place to stuff random stones and things you find on the beach. I'd taken to beach-combing before and after the incident; before as a hobby, the former as a sort of way of dealing with the event in my head. Still had nightmares about the humanoid thing (had it been humanoid? Was that even it's real form?... Had throwing it into the sea been the right idea?) that, in addition to my habit of burning the midnight oil, meant I hadn't slept more than a good four hours at a time. Not unusual, but not healthy.

I took my cellular brick from my pocket. These things are huge, but I like them more than the landline. Make me feel a little bit as if we're moving towards the technology of the other world - even if it just seems at times like we're making the same damn mistakes. The sun outside had fallen behind cloud cover as the phone rang once - found a tie, red and classy! - twice, and finally, got through.

"Jeremiah! Glad to hear from you!"

I heard the sound of food being processed in the background, probably some sort of smoothie. Dr. Krick'd recently found out Amanda liked fresh berries, so - well, smoothies, every day.

"My friend - how have you been? It's been far, far too long. I know you've been troubled recently, but you cannot be your own worst enemy. We're having - "

The whir of a blender powering down - unexpectedly from two faint cries of disappointment - interupted the doctor.

"... Well, we were about to have lunch. But it seems that once again, we've lost power at a most inopportune time."

"Nothing to do with your experiments, I'm sure."

Hasty responses, perhaps a little too hasty, confirmed this was so. Part of me was a little disappointed.

"... But actually, I was thinking of heading down to the pier. I was wondering if you and Amanda would be interested in getting lunch there? Maybe you can tell me about that consul thing in Geneva, and Amanda can tell me how school has been."

They were delighted, of course - the conversation wrapped up quickly after that.

Outside, the clouds had began to turn grey, and ominous. Even if there wasn't any rain, I reached for my new aluminum umbrella and tucked it under my shoulder. You could never be too careful. Smiling wryly - yet feeling unsatisfied - I fumbled for my car keys and stepped outside. A few moments later, I was gone - right as the first droplets of rain began to dot the windshield.


	2. Rain and Light

The two things we take for granted every day are sound, and light.

I started a book like that, once - Though to my own admission, the rest hadn't been quite as good.

The quiet tapping of raindrops, like fingers against the windshield of my car, only served to punctuate the intense solitude of the open road. I saw one other vehicle, total - tourists from another state, driving into the distance with glazed but pleasant smiles upon their faces. They'd come here sad, and left the coast happy - yet they'd still left, all the same. Swerving through a puddle as my thoughts once again my thoughts drifted to the other world - serene, isolated, peaceful - but mostly, isolated. As far as I knew, Liryl was the last human living there. Tourists tend not to make the jump between dimensions, at least outside their minds.

Pulling up to the Pier, I was treated to an excellent view of the cliffside. Jeremiah's beat-up old rig was already in the parking lot, baby-on-board sticker less prominent now that Amanda was a child - but still present. Barring the bicycles and cars of the employees, there wasn't anyone else there.

... I'm sure business'd pick up again during the summer. The doors whistled as I stepped through them, some electronic bauble telling the staff that another customer had arrived. Nancy, a waitress from the next town over, whispered something to Beth - the proprieter, and walked over with a smile. We'd worked together in the past, so it wasn't uncommon I'd step in here for lunch, though I guess I hadn't in some time. Holding up my hand vaguely in a attempt to wave and gesture to whichever booth the doctor and Mandy had found themselves at the same time, I smiled back.

"Wow, you look like a wreck! Doctor Krick and Amanda mentioned they'd been expecting company... Booth on the far left, the one with the wide view. Pass on that I'll be right with you - "

And with another slight smile, she walked back behind the counter.

They were probably wondering what the doctor was up to now. He'd become a bit of a local celebrity since the incident... Not that anyone felt it was anything but an experiment in electrical power generation, or something like that. And despite the shadiness of Jeremiah's work - he and Mandy had become pretty popular. In small towns like this, folks either stick together - or tear each other to shreds. And luckily for the doc and his daughter, it was the former. My mood having improved a bit at the thought, I navigated my way through boothes upholstered in a very unnatural shade of green - where Jeremiah and Amanda were leaning over their table and attempting to solve one of those menu-mazes that some resteraunts hand out.

... I don't know what it is with people here and puzzles, but the ones here are fiendish. Too many spirals and corridors, can drive you mad if you stare at 'em too long. Part of the local charm, I guess.

"Doc, Mandy! How you two doing? Crazy weather out there - the skies seemed to split almost as soon as I'd headed out the door - wow, that's pretty intense, Mandy."

Her gap-toothed grin staring at me in proud, Mandy held up the maze - which was almost complete.

"I solved it!"

"Dad helped."

The latter was tacked on politely, but in reality - Mandy seemed capable of pretty much anything she set her mind to. I didn't want to ask the doc about it too much - but I wondered if maybe there wasn't something in the other world that made you think a bit clearer, more deeply - or if perhaps Mandy was just really gifted. Either way, the smile on their faces was one hell of a nice change after so many days spent cooped up in doors. Why did that thought make me grimace..?

"You seem distressed, friend. Please - sit with us. I already asked for some cold tea to be brought out - I know it helps you think."

Damn decent of you, doc. I couldn't help but notice the two of them had already finished off fairly tall glasses of cloudberry smoothie - it looked pretty good, though a bit too sweet for my tastes. Still, as I toasted the two of them and took a swig from my glass - I once again felt a little bit better.

"Eh, not really distressed. Tired. Haven't slept much, recently. I guess, it's been all the rain - keeps me up at night."

Doctor Krick stared at me with the perceptive gaze of a scientist. I turned away.

"... I was wondering, doc."

The thoughts came out of left field, though they'd been growing unbidden in my mind, for some time.

"That machine - the portal."

My voice had become little more than a hoarse whisper.

"Did you... Destroy everything..?"

Anger blazed in the corners of Jeremiah's eyes. No, not anger - defensiveness. A hasty defense, thrown up to make certain that no one would overhear this conversation and assume anything, at least without knowing the doc like I do.

"Everything! My notes, the blueprints, the correspondances - all of it is, as you know, nothing but cinders in the fireplace!"

"... All of it, Jeremiah?"

Turning to make sure that neither Nancy nor some paparazzi'd materialize out of the ether, Jeremiah sunk back into his chair, shoulders sagging - in defeat or relief, I couldn't tell.

"No, of course not. The portal is still there - inactive, but yet it remains. I could not bare to - to disassemble it.

Maybe some time ago, in another life, I would've considered him mad, vain, or foolish. As it was - I understood him.

And maybe, if I was lucky - he'd understand me.

"... I want to go back, Jeremiah. I - I need to get my thoughts to a new place. I feel like my life is in stasis, here. Could it - would it be possible, to..."

I trailed off as the doctor watched the rain fall. It had become heavier, fuller with time - each raindrop a tiny prism of water crashing as a pale reflection of the waves below, now roaring against the shore. It was almost perfect - there would, after all, be a storm tonight.

"Only for a few days. A week, perhaps. It might not be best to stay in that place any longer. Curious as we are - it is curiousity in the first place that created our problems. I would not want to... Repeat those mistakes."

I nodded, not saying anymore - but hoping that my expression accurately conveyed my gratitude, and not just the exhaustion I felt. Maybe that's what he'd seen reflect in the rain - and taking pity on an old friend, that'd been enough to sway the doctor's mind.

... Regardless, the rest of the afternoon passed in idle chat and small conversation. Amanda proudly displayed her maze-solving prowess to Nancy, who promised that the next one would be 'even harder!' - to which the young prodigy defiantly proclaimed her intent to remain undefeated as champion maze-solver.

After we'd went our seperate ways, my wallet a little lighter and my mind a little clearer, I walked the beaches near the cliffs, looking for strands of broken shell and shredded glass. For perhaps an hour longer than I'd intended, my gaze was drawn towards the sea.

That evening, lightning seemed to strike a certain old lighthouse by the coast.

That evening, I left our world, once again.


	3. Loneliness and Motion

The sand was a rich white beneath my feet as I first stepped out of the portal. Beneath it, shards of rock that had been worn down to nothing with the passing of ages and the waves stuck up, amidst grains of sand an unusual obsidian-black; perhaps newly formed from the destruction of the volcano-factory the monster had used to poison this realm.

... My eyes opened and shut several times, getting used to the harsh, unyielding sunlight. I had never truly looked into the sky in this realm - never had a reason to. Despite it being late into the evening when I had left, it was as bright as a summer evening here - no sun nor moon visible in the brittle white sky.

It felt as if I had never left.

Without thinking, I'd unlaced my shoes and cast them onto the beach, my socks not long after as I felt the warm sand against my skin. Picking up the cast-off clothes, I stowed them in my bag - once again pleased to have the spare room. Rolling up my sleeves and stepping into the water, I did nothing but watch the tide, for some time.

No one came to speak to me, nor ask me about my writing, my life - or anything. I was completely and utterly alone.

Perhaps an hour passed before I finally left the low-nestled tide, walking along the empty beach path toward's the tower known as Martin's roost. I suppose it should no longer bear his name - the only remnants of the inventor's presence being the long-since deactivated mechanical sentinels in the tower loft. I paid them a visit, talking out loud as I did so - with no one else to hear my thoughts, my words came naturally and unencumbered. I spoke at length about many things - my worries, my fears, the feelings I had when my parents died; and received nothing in return but the cold and unyielding look in the slightly rusted eyes of the steel hawks.

My fingers trembling, I reached up to touch one. It was motionless. Had no one really been here in so long..? Brushing the rust off as best I could, I cast aside ancient machinery looking for some kind of remote like the one I remembered - but found nothing. Promising them - promsing perhaps no one but myself - that I would return, I climbed down from the loft, to the hanger where the ornithopter still stood. Unlike the birds above, the great machine still seemed as pristine as the day I had found it - and with a surprisingly few cranks of my hand, it's engine tumbled back to life.

I flew for awhile, aimlessly. Perhaps I was looking for the sun that this world seemed to lack. Perhaps I did not know what I was looking for.

Finally - as if the memory stemmed from days ago, and not months - I remembered the location of a certain temple, and found myself surprised at how easily it's location drifted to the forefront of my minds. Even as the ornithopter's fuel began to ease quietly down, I guided it towards the sand-kissed cliff face the temple itself was carved into. The landing was a bit rougher than I recalled, but that was from my lack of practice.

The main temple chamber was as wide and open as I remembered. Not much had changed since last I had came here. No, that was untrue - nothing had changed, or almost nothing. The ornate doors that served as both protection and privacy for whatever was Liryl's inner refuge were open, and the faint sound of electricity against metal could be heard from within. I guess it was expected - why close a door when it was unlikely even an animal would find it's way in? I felt obligated to speak... So I did.

"Liryl..? It's me. I - I was hoping you'd be here, that we could talk?"

My voice echoed around the chamber back towards me, unanswered.

I knew she had been firm that no one was to come into her room before, so I waited - walking around the center of the old temple and admiring the architecture. Where all else in the realm had fallen into disrepair, something - no, someone - had done her best to maintain the grandeur of this place. An isolated memory of the people who had lived in this realm and once called it home... Before the troubles started.

The sound of crackling heat dissipated and went silent. I couldn't help but turn my head to look into the room - I caught a flicker of blond hair and a flash of movement as someone uneasily pulled themselves into the oversized contraption that the priests here had built as home, transport, and safety. Then the doors shut.

Finally, after a few moments, they slid open, Liryl's machine ricketily pulling itself along the pre-ordained path the temple priests - and perhaps she - had once constructed for it. From inside, Liryl stared at me - the brown robe-like garments she wore in as much disrepair as my own. I almost laughed, but for the uncertainty, anger, and confusion fighting in her steel-blue eyes.

Her voice cracked as she spoke, accompanied by the slightly strained sounds of her machine as it aided her speech.

"Why - did you return? You had left... So suddenly. And I was confused as to why you had left. Without telling me. I had felt... You might come back. But then, a long time passed..."

Her words trailed off, and she stared to the side, biting her lip. Neither of us spoke - feeling as if I should do something, I reached into my pockets for the shells I had gathered from the other realm - ah, the realm I came from. Home.

"I hadn't meant to leave without telling you. It was just that everything happened so fast, I - I brought you these. "

As I held out the assorted shells, anger once again flickered across her face.

"You vanish for so long... Only to think that shells and, trinkets? Will make things better? Liryl - I have been alone - for long enough. I do not need such, trivialities, any longer. "

Her fingers tightened around the control of her craft, pulling perhaps too tightly. It spun forward, careening into me and knocking me to the ground - naturally, the shells tumbled from my grasp and a look of concern crossed Liryl's face.

"I - am sorry! I - I had not... "

Shaking my head, I pulled myself to my feet. It was I who should be apologizing - but I was having trouble saying anything at all.

"They are.... Very nice. I'm sure you went - to a lot of trouble, to find them..."

"Liryl."

My eyes closed, perhaps so she couldn't see my tears, and perhaps because I did not want to meet her gaze and all the emotions it stirred in me.

"I am sorry."

"... So, so, sorry."

Falling forward again, this time as the energy left my body and I felt like a puppet whose strings had been cut, I slumped to the floor. Though I could not bring myself to stand once again - somehow it felt better, looking up at her and the ceiling - her eyes inquisitive as she stared down at me, uncertain of what I would say next.

"Never - I never meant to leave so quickly. I'd never meant to leave at all, maybe. Everything happened so quickly, and I felt so lost - when I returned home, I couldn't sleep at all. I've been having nightmares and waking dreams and all the while I've been thinking of you - and trying not to, and avoiding it, because I'm a coward."

Somehow, I managed to keep my gaze locked onto hers as I spoke, despite feeling as if I should be leaving. From where I had fallen onto the floor, the shells around me shone, tiny pinpricks of reflected light against the ambience of her eyes.

"... And the days turned into months and every day I came up with a new excuse. I'm sorry, Liryl."

She remained silent for a few moments, lips pursed as she gathered her thoughts into words.

"Why then - why... Did you return?"

"Why... Did you come back, if you were so frightene... Of me?"

My mouth opened, agape.

"I'm not frightened of you, Liryl - I - "

Perhaps she was crying, now; though she hid it well.

"It would not... Be the first time."

So we stood, looking at each other through tears in the remains of the dead temple. And yet -

"Yet... You came back. Why..?"

There were so many answers to that I could not pick just one. I wanted to talk more - about you, not the history of this place. I wanted to see you smile. I'd been curious if you'd ever been successful fixing the birdman, what you did in your free time, if you worked with other machines -

"I wanted to see you again."

And so the silence grew oppressive against us.

Wordlessly, Liryl wiped her tear-stained cheeks, her freshly self-cut blond hair shaking slightly as she pulled herself from the machine that served as her transport. With strength and patience born of practice, she lowered herself onto my chest - and embraced me tightly.

"... I wanted to see you again, as well."


	4. Day 1: Lost at Sea

After that embrace finally broke in it's awkward close, I felt as if a wave of doubt had been swept from my soul, against the coast of the temple. I moved to help Liryl back up, but she insisted on climbing back into the contraption she rode on her own. The strain was clearly visible on her face as her fingers tightened around the sides of the shell-like vehicle, and for the first time I was aware how light she was, of how strong her arms must be as she pulled herself off me - and of the fleeting sensation of her body, warm as it held mine.

I guess I must've still been embracing the air, and my cheeks went red. Coughing, I clambered to my own feet - she looked slightly amused, or at least in better spirits than she had been before.

"Is it normal to stare at the ceiling so long... Where you come from? I would be glad to... Leave you alone with it, if you like."

"Nope, I'm just abnormal, here and there. I was just wondering on what you were working on earlier, actually. Ermn. Must've been really fascinating to me, and I guess I just got lost... Looking at the ceiling. Very geometric. The priests do that?"

Crap - I could've kicked myself, figuring that maybe bringing up the priests wasn't the best thing I could do. I mean, they were gone - and they weren't coming back. But Liryl seemed unperturbed, perhaps simply glad to have someone to talk. And really -it seemed like the historians here had placed a lot of importance on living memories. Liryl was as much a part of that as any written word.

"Yes. They - liked the idea that buildings should feel... As natural as any tree, or surface in the earth. They also found that certain shapes were stronger, more long-lasting - I would not be able to maintain these grounds on my own, had they not... Discovered that." Liryl paused, eyes clouding. "But you had asked what I was... Working on? Before - "

Her lips pursing slightly, Liryl cast her eyes over her shoulder, just a little. Not for the first time, I wondered what the inside of the rooms she called her own looked like. I could see a little - a spartan-seeming floor much like the one I had recently been collapsed against, and a few loose wires.

"... I have been, trying... For some months, to fix - Martin's friend. I have been... A little unsuccessful."

Smiling ruefully, Liryl tilted her head to the side.

"Do you know much... About machines?"

Well, barring the interdimensional portal I'd fixed pretty much through luck, and my old friends trial and error... I gave a shrug of my shoulders.

"Not a clue, really. Especially not the ones you have here. Where I come from, most machinery is made from iron, steel - lots of tiny movable parts. Much like the ancient machines you have left over in the basement... I've written about machinery, but trust me - writers are the worst people to ask for help about stuff like this. I can't even fix my VCR."

"Oh..? And what do you write about, then..?"

Liryl hesitantly brushed a strand of hair away from her eye, now extremely curious. I couldn't tell if she was asking what else I wrote about - or what else there *WAS* to write about machines. I couldn't shake the feeling that she was mocking me - albiet good-naturedly.

"Uh... Well, other worlds. The stars, bad cigarettes... People, mostly. But I try to spice things up by thinking up places that most folks haven't visited."

Liryl crossed her arms with a slight effort, grinning.

"Isn't that... Cheating? Though I would not mind visiting the stars, I... Cigaretttes?"

Her thought derailed itself as she said the unfamiliar word. I considered the moral implications of introducing the tarry cancer-sticks to a lush garden-world and it's sole inhabitant, who'd probably never had anything like them - and decided it was a bit morally dubious. To put it lightly.

"Devices that people on our side use to poison ourselves, to take our minds off the world. It's a pretty dreary place, some times!.. Not that it doesn't have it's upsides. Where I come from, there are a lot of forests - seas of green as far as the eye can see."

I hadn't seen too many forests around here; I'd sort of come to the conclusion that whatever the dark being had done on the footheels of the industrial calamities, they'd made greenery a rarity.

"There are forests here... Too. Just, not so many. Would you like to visit one, some time..?"

"Is that even possible -"

I'd meant to say for you but the words sounded callous even as I thought them, so instead I trailed off. It was still rude, and probably stupid - but Liryl took it in stride, with a nod of her head.

"Of course. I wouldn't have offered... To take you there, if I could not, or did not want to. Those are... Some of my favorite places to think. Besides - I'd like you to see more of Planet then just what you've seen on your own. Though... Perhaps not tonight. It is... Rather late."

She sounded hesitant - it was clear she still wanted to do something. My mind raced - all I could think of was the seashore, and how brightly she had spoken of it. If it were possible for her to visit the forest, or forests... Surely it was possible for her to visit the beach?

"Liryl -"

Her eyes perked up as I said her name, staring at me intently.

"... Would it be possible for us to visit the seashore, together?"

She was silent for some time - though I could make out the faint lines of her smile as she tried her best to hide it.

"Please... Can you wait here, for a moment?"

Nodding my head, I waited as the rail-bound craft she occupied vanished once more into the confines of her room, taking Liryl with it. Several minutes passed, and I let my thoughts wonder. What had brought me back to this place? No, that was wrong. Perhaps - what had kept me from coming back..? Fear? What of? It seemed ridiculous, more than ridiculous as I stood amongst the serenity of the temple. A strange script ran up the pillars holding the place together - it reminded me of a favorite teacher who'd lectured at length about cuneiform. I couldn't remember who used it - the Phoenicians, Carthaginians, or Babylonians - but I'd remembered thinking it was beautiful.

... My fingers traced the writing on the wall as I tried to imagine what it might mean. My only clue were the clothes they wore - more elaborate robes then the tunic-like ones Liryl wore, and dyed blue as the sky. Their faces seemed to smile brightly, not stern like the divine figures I was used to. I was interupted from my reverie by the sound of wheels, somewhat unused to the temple floor.

Liryl rode out in what could only be described as a wheelchair - though somewhat more hastily made then the ones I was used to back in the other world. It had been repaired a lot if the salvaged gears were any indication, and it took some effort for Liryl to move it on her own - but she looked happier than I think I'd ever seen her in our interactions before.

"Thank you for waiting!... I promise, I won't slow you down - "

"I know you won't. Besides, we'll be taking our time, right..? I want to catch up, somewhat. We'd had a lot to talk about in a short time, last time we'd met. I wouldn't mind hearing about you, for once..."

We made our way to the beach at a leisurely pace. Liryl occasionally had to stop and get her bearings, and I realized that her means of transportation weren't frequently repaired, but new. She noticed me eyeing it and gave a bob of her head, grimacing as that only caused more strands of her blond hair to throw themselves in the way of her eyes.

"After I... Realized that the priests would not be coming back, I felt it would be... Prudent to have some means to leave the temple. So - I made this. I thought - maybe if I got used enough to using it... I might find someone else, out here."

She gave me a sad little smile.

"And after that, I simply decided... I would try to enjoy this place as much as I could, and engrave... The memories if it into our history."

I knew she meant the history of the denizens of this world - Planet, I suppose - but I smiled a little at her phrase, regardless - then felt a little self-conscious, and blushed. Much to Liryl's amusement...

"Well - I'm impressed. If it were me, I'd probably have just stood around watching the sky all day. It's what I do most of the time. Sometimes, I feel like it gives me inspiration, you know?"

As I gestured to the heavens, my eyes unconsciously looked up - the sky was a dark blue, darker than the deep waters of the sea - but no stars peeked out from behind the other-wise clear sky, though I felt I could see their outlines, faint and immaterial, if I strained my vision. Turning my eyes from the dimming sky, I lowered my gaze - to see Liryl staring at me once again, with the same intensity as before.

It was her turn to blush, though she hid it well.

"I - Ah... Inspiration? That's... A good quality to find in the world around you. You shouldn't be too impressed with me, though..! I just... Think about things, until I find a solution to them. It was nothing, really... Much of the machinery around here is in... Disuse. Forgotten. It felt... Lonely, so I tried to give it... A new purpose."

She smiled as I once more felt the tide licking along my skin - we'd reached the coast, the sand seeming to have become an ink-stained brown under the falling of the light. We traced around the beach as it snaked around the temple perimeter, perhaps a good mile and a half in either direction. Old habits died hard, and I felt my gaze drift towards the beach as we made our way forwards.

To my surprise - although I shouldn't have been - I caught Liryl doing the same, eyes narrowed as they darted around the surface of the sand frenetically, looking for wreckage lost to the tide. Our eyes locked, and she smiled mischieviously. Soon, it'd become a sort of competition - she'd call out her finds, and I'd take them, as well as my own. We were about evenly matched at first, but her unflagging energy finally wore me down - and before long, my hand-bag was stuffed full of shells, smooth rocks, and chunks of polished glass.

But the real find stood out as we'd almost made a full circle around the beach - scraps of jagged iron, engraved with more of the symbol-writing that was so unfamiliar to my eye, had buried themselves into the sand. Perhaps they'd once been part of the boat the priests had set sail on - or perhaps they were from a craft, destroyed by the rise of the dark being, not so long ago. Regardless, Liryl nearly gasped at the sight, her chair lurching to a stop as we reached it.

"Would it be possible... To carry this back with us? I can... Do things with this..!"

The phrase seemed eerily close to the excitement Doctor Krick had when he discussed science, but the brightness in Liryl's eyes was too compelling to just refuse. Unfortunately, the wreck of iron and beachwood was far too large for me to carry on my own - even if I'd emptied out my handbag first, I mused ruefully.

"Not at the moment, no. But... I've got an idea. It'll have to wait until daybreak, though. That all right?"

Liryl nodded her head gleefully, not even paying attention to her hair as it fell in front of her face like a curtain. Unconsciously, I reached up to brush it out of her eyes - we both hesitated for a moment, then laughed nervously. Her laugh was sharp, and punctuated by the stiltedness with which she spoke - and yet all the more beautiful for it.

"That is... That is fine. Besides, it is late..! Though, I am not truly tired.. Have - have you eaten?"

I muttered non-comitally. Up until recently, my diet had consisted of coffee, the occasional cigarette, and possibly a pastry if I was feeling up-scale. Liryl smirked.

"I... See. Well, we'll have to... Do something about that."

Having filled out our collection of sea-salvage nicely, the way back was devoted entirely to conversation. Between the two of us, we'd pretty much picked the beach clean - though Liryl had been adamant we check every shell for life before taking it with us.

"How have things been since the incident? Is the weather always this nice?"

It was just warm enough to make me feel over-dressed. I'd long since chucked my tie into my bag, and my jacket over my shoulder. Liryl had found both very amusing - or possibly just that I'd forgotten how mild and temperate the climate in Planet was.

"The priests said - that ever since... The first accidents, the temperature has always been like this. I... Do not mind it, though I have also heard that long ago... There used to be other weather."

Smiling wistfully to herself, and clearly recalling some long-forgotten conversation I had not been party to, Liryl continued.

"But I would not know. Mostly I have been... Working. There is too much land for me to explore on... My own. I felt that if I created my own machines... I could observe other islands, other places. Maybe even stare... into the sea. Though - I have not had as much luck as I would like with my... Projects. It would not be bad to have someone to... Talk to, while I work."

I felt my fingers tapping against the cloth of my slacks as we walked. I had half a mind to get a pencil and paper, even just some charcoal and write as we spoke. The idea sounded delightful; I guess delightful enough that I was smiling into space, because before I'd noticed, Liryl had rolled over my bare feet, looking a little cross.

"Were you... You aren't bored, are you?"

"Not in the slighest. What you said just sounded nice, that's all."

Once again, a peal of red fire lit up Liryl's cheeks. She opened her mouth and stuttered several times, but no words emerged fully formed from her open lips.

"We should do that when we've hauled that junker-steel back into the temple. I'm assuming you wouldn't mind if I wrote, right? I don't quite have my inspiration back, but -"

I don't feel like I need it. It just gives me an excuse to listen to you, and that's enough for me, right now.

"That is - that would be... I would like that."

We reached the steps back into the temple - I gave Liryl a little boost, though she insisted on pulling herself the rest of the way, and we stepped inside. Once again, Liryl made me wait while she went into her room; and this time emerged with stones plates of what looked to be some sort of peculiar salad, composed largely of vegetables that looked like greens that had the colorations of beets balanced a little precariously on her knees.

Given the difference between our worlds, and the possibility there was some difference between our digestive systems, I probably should've exhibited some caution - but I've always been a bit of a xenophile, and I dug right in. The flavor was bitter at first, sour and tangy. I enjoyed every bite, and since no strange symptoms showed up, declared the experiment a success.

Liryl watched me bemusedly, only starting to eat as I'd finished mine - and asking a question before she did.

"Do you... Usually eat with such... Relish?"

"Only when I'm with people I enjoy spending time with.

She paused, looking as if she wanted to say something - then shoveled more of this world's greenery into her teeth without saying anything, and looking anywhere but my direction.

I stifled a yawn as she finished chewing.

"Are you..? You aren't tired already, are you..?"

Liryl sounded a little disappointed, but I nodded.

"Yeah, exhausted. Don't worry - I'll be here in the morning. Er, where do I - "

"There should be... bedding in the basement. But you should - sleep up here. The sound of the waves is... Calming."

I couldn't say no to that, and nodded my head, assuring her I'd be able to find everything on my own. We bade each other good night far more than was necessary before she finally retreated to her chambers, after I'd delayed her exit several times with thanks and extraneous good evenings.

... Then, after waiting several minutes to make certain that she wasn't coming back out, I strode out towards the sea, jacket in hand.

It took a little effort to dig enough of a footing out from under the wreck to slide it onto my jacket; and after hooking it in, the clothing was ruined forever. But that didn't seem particularly important as I hauled it back towards the temple. It was slow going, and I took my time, pacing myself to make sure the flotsam didn't escape and bury itself into the sand - this time, perhaps permanently.

I found myself yawning increasingly as the sky begin to lighten, this time seriously. It must have been several hours since I'd set out, and it wasn't as if it were that many more steps back; my body ached even from the very moderate pace I'd been dragging at. It wouldn't hurt to rest, just for awhile - and like Liryl had said, the sound of the waves was almost hypnotic. Yawning once more, I sank into the increasingly stretched remains of my jacket - the sand sheltering the rest of me as my eyes drifted shut...


	5. Day 2: Found at Sea

I awoke to the screeching of huge, gull-like birds, and an equal screaming pain in my back.

Had I really tried to haul the prow of some other world's ironcland inland?! What sort of stupid, muzzy-headed logic had made me think a beanpole like myself could do that? I tried to to rise up, but instead simply ended up flailing my arms in the air pathetically. More importantly...

Liryl was staring down at me with unconcealed amusement. She had changed her clothes from before - for the first time I saw her in something that might be considered a more casual form of clothing in this realm - essentially a light yellow sundress, though I couldn't help but notice the addition of both several sewn-in pockets, as well as the runic patterns that matched her shawl-collar from before.

... Judging by the sand gathered at the wheels of her chair, she must have been staring at me for some time.

"Hello. I know this looks pretty pathetic, but, it was done with the best of intentions, I swear."

Once again I flailed about despite my body's protests and tried to stand. No luck.

She laughed, (somewhat) quickly covering her mouth and looking surprised at herself.

"I - I am sorry!.. I had not meant, to laugh... It's just that..."

"Yeah. Trust me, I would to. Uhmn..."

"I... Can't help you up - 

"Don't worry about it. This is nothing. I defeated the dark being, remember?"

... I said as I tried in vain to claw the sun from the sky - or where there would be a sun, had it been visible. Finally I gave up and just collapsed back into the warm sound - it felt nice as my skin sank into it, and I had the fleeting desire to make a sand angel... So I did. Naturally, Liryl only laughed more - and that was more than enough to make up for my current predicament, I figured.

"Did you really... Attempt to bring this all the way back, for me? I - would have helped, if you'd just waited... Or asked..."

Barely contained mirth shone in the skylight of her eyes. I shrugged into the sand.

"It seemed like it'd be a cool surprise. I hadn't even thought about how I'd get it up the steps. Sort of a 'work smarter, not harder' thing. Uh, I guess I wasn't thinking very smart, though... You look smart. Er. Good. Great, this morning. Is what I mean."

That could have gone better - but Liryl's face went as red as a bonfire... Though she did not turn away, this time. A tiny smile flitted across her lips, growing only larger - and more devious - as the unmistakeable look of inspiration followed it in rapid pursuit.

"Would - Please, take my hand."

She held out her left hand, arm bare and pale in the morning - afternoon? - light. Her fingers were worn from a life spent behind controls, and the muscles just visible against her outstretched arm. My fingers locked around her own as she strained against the wheelchair - and pulled herself somewhat gently down onto the sand beside me. Somewhat, because she did get a faceful of sand for her trouble - much to my embarrassment.

But Liryl only laughed in child-like glee, beaming at me before rolling right side up. Side-by-side, we stared at the sky together - though my eyes occasionally drifted to hers as the day drifted by. They were incredibly blue - like a mirror of the sky. Occasionally, I was distracted as the frills of her sundress were teased by the mild wind, dancing around where legs ended at the knee. She may have caught me looking once or twice - but said nothing. Perhaps she wasn't looking at me looking at her - but just at me.

"This isn't quite how I imagined I'd return... I actually am going to go out on a limb and say this is a bit better."

"... Oh? You had... Plans, then? For how you would... Come back?"

"Of course. I have endless plans, it's just that most of them go nowhere. I tend to run away from them a lot, unless something tethers me down to them."

Liryl said nothing, though for a minute that same devious smile crossed her lips.

"... I don't know if I told you how I get pulled into this in the first place. A friend of mine - his kid was taken by the dark being. I'd been asked to babysit at the time, so... You know, risks of babysitting."

"No, I am afraid I do not know. Though... Given your current situation I - am unsurprised."

"Are you still making fun of me? The suffering is pretty much unbearable right now. I'm probably dying from heatstroke, and you're a hallucination or something. If that's the case -"

Liryl reached over, a little hesitantly, and pinched the skin of my arm from where I'd rolled up the white sleeves of my shirt last evening.

"- Ow."

"Clearly... I am not a hallucination. Also... I find it somewhat unlikely, that you are suffering from heatstroke in weather like this. Though I am curious... How you were going to finish that sentance..?"

Making a face, I turned away from her in the sand - or would've, had my back not screamed in agony and forced me to yield.

"You don't get to know, because not only has my body been hurt, my spirit has along with it. Trust! Betrayal! All the makings of a good story right there, and me without the tools to write it."

"Tell me."

She completely ignored my complaints, her face serious and focused, the soft lines of her lips pursed as her eyes drilled into my face - searching for any hint of what I'd been thinking. I fought off sweat, and not from the mild heat.

"No. I refuse. I refuse because reasons, and more than that, I refuse on principle."

With a sudden and rather unconvincing war-cry, Liryl hurled sand at me! Unable to roll out of the way, it was my turn to eat the silty grains of defeat. Laughing even as I coughed, I tentatively shrugged my shoulders - the pain in my back having faded enough to allow this much, at least.

"All right, you win. I was just thinking that if you were the last thing I saw - it wouldn't be such a bad way to go."

Close, but you're still a liar.

Liryl tilted her head into the sand, trying to knock strands of her hair way without reaching up to brush them - as I saw her do so, I ran my fingers through her hair subconsciously.

"Is that... Everything?"

She'd smiled - but it was a curious smile, too curious for her own good. My mood dampened. What exactly HAD I been thinking? Was it even... Liryl was pretty much alone here. Of course she'd want company. It was presumptious of me to think anything else. As per usual, I'd let myself get carried away on reality - and infused it with my own delusions.

"Yeah, it's everything. I guess I'm just too creative for my own good, right?"

To my surprise, Liryl looked a little... Downcast? Disappointed? It was hard to tell. Pensive, perhaps - but not so much to ruin the day for her, and for that I was grateful.

"It is impossible for anyone to be... Too creative. It's thinking like that, that led... To the troubles. Now, if there were such a thing as being too... Dishonest..."

Finding the energy to elbow me, Liryl smirked.

"I'm the picture of honesty - all my friends and family tell me that, all the time. And that's the truth."

"... Do you have... Many friends... And family?"

"Not really. My parents passed away a few years back. My aunt - we're on a good, but distant wavelength. She's extroverted and I'd rather spend my days - huh. I guess it's pretty much just the doctor, his kid, and me. I mean, there are a lot of people I know about town, but they wouldn't really qualify as friends - "

"Are you... At the moment..."

Liryl hesitated, chewing on her lip as she considered her words. After a few moments passed with nothing but the sound of gulls and waves lapping gently along the coast, I realized she had no plans to continue her sentence, and tumbled amateurishly to one of my own.

"What about you? Back before all this - did you have many friends?

Perhaps it would've been a crass question to ask at any other time - but at the moment, I felt safe with her. Almost serene - and as her eyes lit up, I remembered the joy with which she had recalled the past. Here, it seemed history was almost a part of spirituality, and storytelling almost a prayer of memory.

"In a manner of speaking... There were many... Amongst the priests, whom I considered... Friends. And whenver pilgrims would visit the island... They would visit, with stories and... Souveneirs. I still have some of them if - "

Once again, she cut off mid-sentance; but this time, breathing a little too quickly to be confident, she finished her thoughts.

"If you would like... To see them, some time."

I waited just long enough not to interrupt, if she had more to say.

"It would be an honor. I'd love to."

The gulls circled us lazily overhead - their wings were far larger and more akin to an albatross then the gulls I'd seen back home, and their beaks more similar to those of a pelican; but their cries and the simple-minded joy with which they hurled themselves to the water and hunted for fish was a dead ringer for the seagulls of home.

Liryl hadn't spoken for a minute, simply smiling into the air. Occasionally, she stole a glance my way, but continued to say nothing.

... If I had to venture a word for it, I felt at peace.

"What are you planning to do when we get this monster inside?"

Blinking several times, Liryl avoided my glance.

"I - Er... "

Squirming in the sand for a moment, she seemed to realize something and laughed quietly, but so passionately that tears streamed down her face. Holding up a hand to apologize, she managed to control her laughter long enough to answer me.

"Once we get... The boat... Inside? I plan to take it apart, of course. My hope - is that, if we're lucky... There is enough here to help me with machines... That can drift along the floor of the ocean. Looking for vents... And signs of movement. Though - to save you from... Yourself, I think we'll simply... Disassemble it here, piece by piece. Unless you'd prefer... To haul it up the steps?"

"No, I like your plan. But what was so funny? If you're still laughing just at me, it's fine... But I can't imagine the novelty of me flailing about in the sand is still that funny."

Speaking pointedly, my comments nevertheless caused a fresh peal of laughter from Liryl at the memory - though as I guessed, it was far more subdued than her earlier outburst.

"N-no. I... Decline to answer. After all, you yourself - cruelly... Denied me information. I think it is only fair."

"But this is different - I didn't burst into teary gigglefits! That merits an explanation, doesn't it? Plus, you yourself seemed guilty of a little sand-flailing. Though I'd be flattered if you were so caught up in my coolness that you were trying to imitate me - "

"Terribly... Unlikely -"

"Ouch, but I'll overlook that and ask once more - seriously."

Liryl stared at me, a finger held to her lips - which had pursed somewhat enigmatically, not quite smiling, nor frowning entirely. From behind the shadow of her pointer finger, it seemed almost as if she were doing both at once - and perhaps enjoying the ambiguity that her gesture held.

"The only way you will find out... Is if you continue to stay here. Otherwise, the secret behind my laughter - may have to fade, onto the wind... "

"Would a week be long enough to pry the secret out of you?"

"... Perhaps."

Finally, my body had stopped aching and instead faded to a pleasantly dull rubber-like sensation. Stretching, I rose to my feet and ignored quiet laughter as sand rolled off me in so many tiny granules. It probably looked pretty ridiculous.

"Then I'll just have to adjust my plans until you reveal your secrets to me, warden. For now though - do the rules of the temple forbid you from eating fish?"

"Not at all - so long as the... Proper rites are said."

"All right then! Prepare to be amazed!"

... The already fading afternoon quickly faded as Liryl and I took turns fishing. Contrary to my proclomation, nothing particularly amazing happened in regards to my fishing skills. Perhaps the gulls in all their cruel splendor had decided to catch every last fish before I set my masterplan in motion - but Liryl proved to be a far better fisher than I, patiently watching our (very) makeshift rod as first one, then another sea-goer tested the bait. Still, nothing bit and the sky grew darker and lined with an almost pastel orange.

At some point, Liryl and I had started to lean against each other's shoulders. I was drifting off when I heard a sudden surprised gasp, and Liryl yanked the rod towards us - with a flailing gasp, one of the trout-like fish I'd seen before collapsed onto the coast. And though Liryl caught it - I cleaned and cooked it with some of the cut vegetables from last night.

After the proper rites were said, of course.

The sunset having overtaken another day in this realm - in planet - time seemed to have slipped through my fingers easily and unbidden. Though back in the other world - in earth, I reminded myself somewhat forcefully. In home - this had caused me a great deal of distress, here I found the feeling almost rejuvenating; the time passed easily, with me looking forward to the dawn of a new day. Yawning, I tried to stifle it with one hand - and saw Liryl looking at me with an unconcealed (and somewhat pitiful) frown.

"Are you... Going to go to sleep early, tonight?..."

Her lips slowly curled upwards.

"And actually... Sleep?"

"Don't think so. I'm tired, but not exhausted - did you have something in mind?

Pumping her fist into the air as if celebrating a minor victory, Liryl wheeled herself away, only to return with a collection of well-dried beachwood, which she handed to me - a determined look upon her face.

"I'd like to have a bonfire."

It seemed important to her - and how could I refuse? The last time I'd had a bonfire had been years and years ago - and I felt a wave of slightly childish glee welling up inside of me at the prospect of dancing flames rising into the darkening evening sky. I carried the wood outside as Liryl gathered more - and then, stumbling upon an idea of my own, returned to the temple and made my way down to the basement. It was still as dark and sorrowful as I recalled - the feeling of eerie similarity between our word and earth - between our worlds was unshakeable.

Grabbing several somewhat clinical-seeming sheets made of what seemed like linen, I made my way back upstairs. Liryl had already made her way outside, hauling wood with her. Apprently, not seeing me there, she'd decided to go on her own. Smiling a little to myself at her spirit, I followed to where she was circling the pile of wood we'd created, looking thoughtful.

"... I do not know how many more stones we'll need to circle around it - Oh... What, are those for?"

"Well, I was thinking if you don't mind it - we could sleep out here tonight. Maybe get lucky and catch the stars."

She displayed no emotion at first, clearly thinking the idea over - but the more she thought about it, the more she seemed to like it, until her face split into an excited grin.

"I would... Like that very much..! Though we do not, often... Get the stars out here. We'll just have to keep - our eyes open, won't we..?"

"Damn straight! I figure a few more stones'll be good, and we are near the ocean. I may not look it, but I'm pretty reliable. I promise I'll throw some water on the fire if it gets out of hand."

Although Liryl looked as if she had a witty remark she wanted to say, she held it back with a mischievious smile... Perhaps just saving it for a later time. Not that I minded, either way -

Though after seeing her attempting to start a fire the old fashioned way, I had to intervene a little. Taking the lighter from my pocket, I lit one of the scraps of parchment paper we'd used as kindling and admired the orange hints of flame as they curled up its side. Liryl stared at me in interest.

"What an interesting... Tool. Do you have it for any... Particular purpose?"

"The only good leftover of those cigarettes I was telling you about. It's basically just flint and tinder in a box, though - friction and some fuel to make starting fires easier."

Liryl looked as if she had more questions - possibly ones that I couldn't answer, embarrassing as it might be to admit that I probably couldn't even explain how a lighter worked on my own. But they faded from her - and my mind as the flames begun to dance merrily along the wood proper, and soon a mighty blaze reached like a pillar up to the night sky.

"... Thank you."

It took me awhile to register the compliment. I'd been staring past the fire - and as my thoughts began to re-align themselves, I realized I'd been staring at her. Damnit. Feeling terribly embarrassed, I scratched the back of my neck and smiled sheepishly.

"My pleasure. It's not too often I get to enjoy a beautiful fire with a friend."

"...A friend..?"

She had seemed unphased by my staring at her, but this comment bothered her. I could fathom a few guesses as to why, perhaps - but again, the feeling of uncertain footing gripped my mind in it's talons. Anything more would be just that - too much more, said too certainly. An image of my isolated, practically unlived-in house flashed into my mind - life was best as it was. Any other thought about Liryl would be...

"Yeah. A great friend. Thank you, Liryl. This was a good idea."

But Liryl had turned away, so that I could not stare at her face. Fire crackle towards us, reaching towards my legs and the end of hers, illuminating her sundress but only casting a shadow against her face. Suddenly, Liryl yawned - loudly, perhaps a little too loudly.

"I am tired. If - it isn't... I'll probably sleep, soon."

"Huh - Okay, sure."

Perhaps I could've protested or said something else - but it caught me off guard. Perhaps unfairly so, but then again - it isn't as if I hadn't said the same thing last night. And more than that, this was her home. If she wanted to rest, there was nothing I should do about it. Besides... The stars remained concealed. I watched for them patiently but with a growing fog in my mind as the fire began to wane, finally nothing more than crackling embers against the warm night sky.

In such an atmosphere, I drifted to sleep -

... I think.

For the first time, my dreams were not plagued by thoughts of the dark being, of kidnapped children and static skies. My dreams seemed real - but too real, almost as if they were not dreams at all but some distant memory, yet near.

The fire, long-since dead and a ghost of itself even in my dreams, only cast a forlorn into the smoke in the skies as a sound - faint, so faint that it was clear it was trying to be suppressed - the only thing besides the bizarre and alien sky above me. The stars remained unhidden behind distant nebulae like the splashes of color in an oil painting I had seen in a gallery, long, long ago.

From behind my bed-roll, I could hear that faint sound - though my neck felt as if paralyzed, and I could not bring myself to turn around, despite the fact it was growing louder and unmistakeable even as some part of me desperately tried to ignore it - for just as desperately was the sound calling to me, perhaps to anyone - or perhaps, just perhaps, only to me.

But it was unmistakeable the more I listened - the longing tone of voice, cached between desperate and increasingly rough breathing, punctuated by the troubled gasp of one unused to vocalizing her quiet cries... While also trying to stifle them. Faintly, I could hear the accompaniment of other sounds - the soft rustling of floral fabric, the dance of fingertips, needling and needy.

My own body began to react, the same fog of my dreams seeming to grow inside of my head as the dream went on. Despite my inability and terror preventing me from looking to my side and confirming what I knew to be true, I could feel a heat like the fire rising in my flesh, tickling my skin and playing - like fingertips - across my thighs. I could feel myself grow hard against the sudden confinement of my slacks - and before I knew it, my hand had slipped open my zipper and eased my length out into my own greedy touch.

... So the two mutually inaccesable dreams continued into the night, my own breath finally halting as a white haze corresponded with the sand glistening a pale white. My heartbeat quickened as I buried mself into my bedroll, fingers guiding my rod back into the security of my slacks. I could hear the gasps and quiet breathing of that other dream as the fog continued to oppress me from above in the pastel sky... Though the dream was unwanted and stole quickly into my sleep, it wasn't a nightmare - and though I could not bring myself to stare to my side... A sense of relief had washed over me. I ached to to turn, or to speak - but no words could come.

I fought the mounting pressure to rest and forget about the dream, to bury it beneath layers of fog - and slowly lost ground as weariness washed over me. As my vision slowly faded, however - I managed to steal a single look to my side, even as my consciousness faded. In those last fleeting moments of subreality, my memory burned a picture of the blue eyes I saw staring back at me into my mind - staring at me with unconcealed lust. And then - all was no more, and sleep claimed me.


	6. Day 3: The Forestry Sea

I woke up early, for once. It couldn't have been later than six, though my watch never displayed the right time, here; assuming there even was a right time synonymous with the otherrealm. A fog had settled over the shore - the temperate air hung heavy and thick, and I wondered if it might rain here, as well. Did Planet get tropcial storms..?

Still unnerved by fragments of half-remembered dream, I glanced at Liryl - who was still very asleep, though it seemed fitful. She head pulled her blankets around her tightly - as if to hide all but her face, which was turned from me. Her mouth was agape as she took quiet, and perhaps painful, breaths of air. Her burnished blond hair hung about her head in a tangled halo.

... Feeling like a creep for watching her rest, I sighed and took stock of our surroundings. The fire truly had dwindled to nothing - the remains of all that we had burned were nothing more then flame-encrusted cinders that smelled faintly of the sea. Despite the fact that the wind had started to pick up, I felt uncomfortable just waking Liryl... For several reasons. Guiltily, my eyes slid from where they had been staring back at her - to the sand. But of course, there was nothing there but sand - and nothing else.

My hands slipped nervously into my pockets as I turned to watch the fog rise off the deadend fire, creating the illusion of a ghostly smoke. I didn't notice at first the faint rustling behind me that indicated Liryl had woken - not until I felt her fingers, faint and soft against my shoulder.

"You're... Awake. How did you... Sleep?"

"Well enough. I'm not much of a morning person, so - just trying to gather my thoughts!.."

That was true enough - it was what I'd come here to do, wasn't it?.. No. You came here to visit her. And now my thoughts are more cluttered than ever. What was I supposed to do? What am I suppoesd to do..?

Liryl pulled herself up beside me, onto the uncharred driftwood I was using as a makeshift seat. I felt a bit better with her beside me, even as some part of me felt it was the absolute worst thing imaginable to be sitting beside her at this moment.

"How about yourself? As promised, the fire didn't engulf us well we slept - so, there's that."

"... You have a strange - sense of humor. I slept... Fine. Though I am eager to go to a place... Today. You will come with me."

Despite the strength with which she said those words, it wasn't a request or a demand - it was somehow more than that, hesitant and pleading and certain, all at once.

Especially the last one.

"Absolutely. Ah, you know - before we go, let me whip us up some breakfast! This'll be really good, I promise!"

A few moments and a very meager - especially compared to last night - fire later, my magnifcent breakfast of tinned oatmeal and canned coffee was complete. Liryl seemed extremely trepidatious about both - but trusted me enough to try the oatmeal (which she liked) and the coffee (which she spat out, laughing).

"P-paha! You cannot... Is this really a beverage... Where you come from? Do all people from your world - only like bitter, sour things?"

"Just me, actually. Though most people like coffee, or at least learn to love it. Eh, you tried it though, so more for me!"

Liryl contented herself with cold water - I'd noticed what looked to be purification systems in the temple basement, and some part of me wanted to ask about them. She looked so thoughtful as the water slipped between her lips that it felt wrong to disturb her with such a minor question... Her eyes drifted open and stared at me, quizzically.

"Am I drinking this... Oddly?"

"No, no! Not all - I guess I just spaced out. Again. Been doing that a lot, lately. Coffee hasn't kicked in yet, and all that. No. More than that - I have a lot on my mind, Liryl."

She smiled, perhaps a bit more painedly then yesterday, at the mention of her name.

"Perhaps... That makes two of us, then. Would you mind... Accompanying me back to the temple?"

A steely determination crept into her voice - a determination born of an unshakeable will.

Wordlessly I rose to my feet and doused the fledgling fire - the two of us returned to the temple as the fog engulfed the area that until moments ago had been a tiny refuge for us - and hid it behind a peal of warm mist.

As we entered back into the temple again, Liryl held up her right hand, indicating that we should stop. I hadn't realized I'd been marching in linkstep with her and jolted to a halt a little dazedly. She wheeled to face me, expression unreadable.

"We may be gone for most of the day. Is there - there anything that you need to do, here?"

Shaking my head, I say a faint glimmer of satisfaction slide slowly onto her lips.

"Good. I - that is... Good. The other thing I must ask is, you - you will not leave, regardless of what you see, will you?.."

"Is it dangerous?"

I don't know why that was the first thing I asked - perhaps some memory of the struggle against the dark being still tugged at my mind, though it had done so less and less the more time I spent around Liryl. Her eyes widened in surprise at my question, as if it had been the last thing she expected.

"N-no!... Of course, of course not. It is merely... I do not want you to leave, earlier than - than a week."

"Hey, I did say a week. At least. I'm not the sort of person to break a promise when I've made one. I've got plenty of other flaws - but I'll stand by my word... No."

"I'll stand by you, Liryl."

For the first time today, Liryl smiled. It was as refreshing as it was beautiful - the way her lips soared upward as freely as a bird in flight. I expected her to go and change, perhaps, or get something from her room - but she did neither of those things, instead wheeling towards one of the many byzantine control systems in the temple and activating it in with a practiced touch. The floor rotated beneath our feet, slowly revealing another passageway down; as Liryl rode back towards me, she looped her hand in mine, staring at me hopefully.

It took a bit of practice - but arm in arm, we made our way down the spiraling ramps. Though it was dark, luminescent fungus that shone a pale, unearthly blue lit the walls - I could make out some of the organic machinery that seemed to be part and parcel of the temple within several of the mushroom clusters. Though it was unfamiliar, I also felt it would've been impossible to lose our way.

At the bottom of the rampway was what was unmistakenably a train - of sorts. Unlike the excavation car I'd found before, this looked to have been... At one point, long before Liryl or I had lived... A passenger train, not too dissimlar to our own. But vines had overgrown it, rust stained the sides, and the track it stood on was in a state of perpetual disrepair. Liryl smiled a little to herself.

"This is... We can get to the forests, from here. One of them - I do not, know how many... And where the others may be. It is one of the reasons I, want to explore... More of Planet. It would be nice... To see others."

Her eyes shone at the prospect of visiting other groves - and for a half a minute I wanted to tell her that we'd do it together. Biting my tongue, I looked at the darkened cavern ahead of the tracks - it had no lighting at all. A small ramp, perched on several boxes, served as Liryl's access to the train - as she strode over it, her fingers nearly left mine - and I raced to follow her into the train, not wanting to lose the connection our fingers held.

A faint smile graced her lips as I did so and the rusty doors of the train clattered shut behind me with a grace that belied their appearance. Several more myconoid lights lit up the interior of the car, as Liryl reached for a lever, and pulled it down with an audible effort.

There was a hiss, perhaps of steam or something akin to it - and the train slowly came to life - moving into the darkness at a surprising pace. I helped myself onto a seat that had grown thick with soft lichen, and Liryl wheeled to a stop next to me - like this, we nearly came to the same height. I smiled a little sheepishly as I felt her fingers tighten around my own - and then the darkness of the cavern had passed, and we were outdoors again.

Reinforced glass tunnels did little besides reflect my awe as the sea roared past for a few brief moments. I could see Liryl beaming in that same reflection as squid-like creatures with skin that shone primsatically drifted lazily around us, and one-finned fish with eyes as big as dinner plates stared lazily through the glass towards our solitary train. We were headed upwards, however - only a small part of the tunnel had been built below sea level... And perhaps it had not always been so, at that.

The ocean faded away to pale yellow sand kissed by the fog from earlier, and Liryl turned to face me. She opened her mouth to speak, stopping in minor frustration as strands of hair fell into her face and between her lips. I brushed her hair aside, and realized just how close her face was to mine - and how soft her skin was. We stared for some time at one another, Liryl's eyes not moving from my own... Though this time, it was she who broke the silence.

"I... We... It is some time before we reach the forests, here. I thought... Perhaps, since I am showing you these... You might - tell me, a bit of your world."

Blinking a few times to remember what exactly that world was when it seemed lifetimes away, I gave a weak nod of my head.

"Y-yeah. There's a lot of similarities, as I've said - but we're in an age like the ancients before your time, or even the time of the priests. There are cities that stretch on - for as long as we've been traveling, and then some. There are towers of steel and glass that reach as far as the volcano - and factories, huge workshops that produce most everything we need."

"It does not sound... So horrible."

Her voice had a curious timber to it - interested, yet cautious, uncertain where it might be going.

"Is it... Very sad, where you come from?"

Well, I hadn't been expecting that. Watching the sand around us give way to soil the color of charcoal, I shook my head - then paused.

"Why do you ask? I mean, I don't think of it that way, but - "

"You seemed... Very sad, both times you came here. Now... And then. I just felt - perhaps, it was an especially sad... World."

"Maybe it is - or maybe it's just me. I guess there are as many answers to that question as there are ways you could ask it. I think - I'm happier here. And I think part of it is that I do feel like I keep running from the sprawling, increasing interconnected world we're in - and eventually it'll catch up with me."

A friend of mine had talked excitedly about how world wide webs and hypercards would bring us all closer together. Though I'd been happy he'd been so excited about it, I remember staying up all night, wondering exactly how much more connected I wanted to be with every person I knew... And did I want that connectedness to grow organically, or rise like one of the complexes dotting the landscape where I'd lived before the move..?

Liryl's fingers left mine, bringing me back to reality - because she'd moved to embrace me. Her body seemed so small, suddenly - as if she was trying to compress herself against me to shield me from something only she could see. I felt the warmth of her skin through that same pale yellow sun dress - and I felt her breath, along with mine. I did the only thing I could -

I embraced her back, tightly.

She seemed surprised at first, then went completely silent and still. So silent that at first I thought I'd done something wrong, only to feel her fingers moving down the back of my neck, slowly.

Finally, she disentangled herself from me, smiling gently.

"We already are connected... All of us. But you do not have to be connected to those around you, all the time. Those who... Are important to you will be there... When you need them most."

Pausing as her smile widened, Liryl pointed outside the window. Trees - tall as towers and some as thick as small houses - had begun to appear sporadically around us, and up ahead grew so densely as to blanket out the entire sky. Their skin was burnished brown, and their spiral-like leaves a brilliant, withering red.

"We're - we've arrived!.. You should pay attention to the trees here... I find that you can always... Think more clearly, in the woods."

"I couldn't agree more. Shall we?"

The train had jolted to a stop moments ago, but everything seemed so peaceful I was almost loathe to get to my feet. Liryl had take my hand excitedly, however - and though her eyes were patient, she was clearly eager to leave. Her energy was as contagious as her smile, and we stepped off the train. There was no ramp here - but the door opened out onto the forest floor, sheltered with fallen spiral leaves.

Around us, the trees rose omnipresently, the spirals dancing through the air as they fell infrequently. Not for the first time, I wondered if there were seasons here, and what their differences to ours might be. Liryl stared pensively at one, brows narrowing as if she was reading a fortune.

"I was thinking about my life... Recently. Before you'd come back, I wanted... To leave and explore more. Now I want that - more than ever. But I think - think that to do so... I need to learn more then just, how the machines here work. I want... To learn as much as I can. I feel... Since, I am the last... Even if I am just a ward, I should also try... To keep the teachings of the priests alive."

"A tough goal, even for someone as talented as yourself."

Liryl looked at me as if she felt - or perhaps simply was worried - I was mocking her. Thinking of the myriad thoughts that could be drifting behind those imperceibtly deep blue eyes right now, I chose my next words with care.

"... But one I know you can reach. Is there anything I can do to help?"

Certainly, I could've went on for some time and given her advice - but this was Liryl's path, and it was far better I felt to listen, then to speak. To her end - Liryl seemed to approve, but was silent for some time as her wheels crackled against fallen leaves.

"... I do not know. I think - there is probably not, at this time. There may - not be, ever. I would like it, however if you were nearby. If perhaps - sometimes, when I need someone to talk to, we could... Come here."

As the trees closed in around us, I think I could feel a little of the same spirituality Liryl felt in such a place. Forests had always seemed sacred to me - but the quiet canvas here was like a sea of wood and red leaf. These were perhaps the tallest things Liryl had personally seen - and unlike the roar of a cityscape or the harsh beauty of a mountain, there was an overwhleming feeling of sanctuary here.

"I'd like that. Listening to you helps me, as well. I don't feel quite as frightened when I'm with you."

"... Frightened? What of..?"

"Everything."

We continued on in silence after that, both of us lost in our own thoughts. Finally, we reached a glade in the woods - the sky was still invisible here due to the denseness of the forest canopy, but the ground was bare where one of the trees had fallen, carved out by wind and perhaps rain. It's trunk had been worn away into the soil, the soft, almost pillow-like that had spread across the train's seats had spread like wildfire. Liryl bade me sit, though she did not sit herself, instead circling the trunk repeatedly, the wheels of her chair wearing grooves into the soil.

"... You will leave again, won't you."

"In around a week, more than likely."

"... Why."

"This isn't my world. I have a job to do, and friends - obligations, and -"

"You're scared of them! And... You don't want to do them, so you rush back... To them?!"

Liryl was angry, more than angry - her voice shook the leaves around her, causing them to rise and dance as her chair whirled to a halt. She faced me defiantly, eyes burning with anger - and something else, something uncontrollable and untameable as the forest itself.

"I cannot... Stop you... Nor would I, even if I... Could. But then - why... Did you come back. Why... "

"The one thing I messed up before I left - I'd wanted to say goodbye to you."

Hahah. I 'messed up'. What a selfish thing to say. Liryl then had been an afterthought as the world collapsed around me, my only thought at the time being escaping with the doctor and Amanda. Had I come here just to pretend it was some minor moment of forgetfulness, say hello and goodbye in rapid in succession and then just disappear?

"No. Liryl, that's not right at all. What brought me back her is you. I - "

Liryl put her fingers to my lips, firmly. Her body trembled as she pried herself out of her wheelchair - and fell onto me forcefully. Her legs splayed where they ended, knees to the side of my hips as she straddled them. As the breeze rustled her sundress, I was aware of the fact she wore nothing under it. She made no motion to hide herself as I saw the soft rise of hair above her lower lips - only stared at me, intently. Then her hands pinned me down against the soft, downy lichen - her face inches away from mine - but hesitating to come closer to than that.

"Do you... Truly find Liryl... So terrible..."

Her breath was uncertain as it tickled my cheek and teased the stubble of my chin - as uncertain as the look in her eyes, alternating between desire to stay, and desire to run - both feelings I knew well.

"I am so... Monstrous?.."

Her lips slid against mine slowly - her kiss was not skillful, but languid, savouring my lips against hers as if they might disappear at any time. Her breath tickled me as her tongue pressed forward hesitantly to mine - then pulled back.

She broke the kiss, eyes shut as she tried to speak without pause. Her breath sounded even more forced as she did.

"You can go. Back to where you came from, but please. Please just let me have... This."

As she stopped, halted at the last word, I could see the tears forming underneath her otherwise shut eyes. I reached up to wipe them away, and for a second felt as if her grip against me might yield to bat my fingers away - but it did not. Her skin was soft to my touch, softer still without tears. As her eyes opened hesitantly, blue irises framed by soft eyelashes - her lips parted, questioningly.

"You want this, Liryl?"

"I have... Wanted this since before you left. Since you returned."

I'd guessed as much, but all the same... This...

"Things like this are never simple. There's still a lot - we barely know each other, and - "

Liryl laughed, this time bitterly.

"I am not... Looking for anything like that. I just want someone... who will hold me without... Seeing me for something.. I... More than that would be..."

Catching her breath, Liryl eased down against me. I could feel the weight of her hips, heavy against mine, and fought to remain cogent.

"You are - even before I was aware of this... Very few... Looked at me, like you do. Do not think... I don't know."

"Moments like these change people, Liryl. It isn't always easy to remain close - after you've - after we've..."

"That too, I know. But you will soon be gone regardless, won't you?.. I - I would rather... Have this memory, then."

Her lips drifted towards mine again - and I met them halfway. Her eyes widened in shock, then drifted half-shut as our tongues entwined, the taste of her saliva bitter against my lips as we kissed slowly at first, then feverishly.

As she pulled back from the kiss, a trail of our saliva hung translucent in the forest air, then broke. Liryl's eyes glistened in blissful surprise - then she launched herself against me again, the strength of her arms keeping me pressed down as she left a path of frail kisses down my exposed neck.

Already, I could feel her hips jutting against mine weakly, all of her effort going into trying to force her slit, now hidden by the flowing yellow of her sundress, onto my unexposed girth. She was pressed up against me so tantalizingly close that I could make out the gentle curves of her breasts through the fabric of her dress; but this was too fast. And if Liryl wanted this memory - as much as I wanted her - I wanted it to be more than this. Managing to wriggle free from the pinning grasp of her hands against mine, I pressed my fingertips under her dress and up to her stomach - shivering against her skin as I eased her back.

Liryl stared at me hesitantly as I pulled the sundress off of her. I took my time, taking care to trace every inch of her skin - marveling at the tautness of her stomach, the lines of her sides as she drew in every breath, the slope of her breasts as they rise and fell, the rise of her shoulders as they cradled her neck... Her eyes, reminding me of the sky hidden by the trees above. Our eyes met, and I knew this was no longer a dream. Kissing Liryl passionately, my fingers slid over her breasts, digging into their soft skin and kneeding it beneath them as Liryl squirmed, biting her lip slightly.

I felt her nipples growing hard under my touch as she begun to grind against me again, needily and impatiently - I could tell, because her fingers had dug into either of my sides enough for her to lift her hips up, trying once again to desperately mount me without me even having removed my slacks. I slid my left hand from her breast to the small of her back, smiling a little as it arched forward - and helped pull Liryl closer to me. She seemed confused at first, her head tilted to the side - but moving towards me nonetheless.

As the disharmony of scattered hairs above her opening drew closer to my face, I planted a single kiss above her thighs, watching her shoulders twitch as I did - then begun to kiss and nibble her flesh as I drew closer to her slit, my tongue teasingly sliding through the mop of hair above it - already slick with her juices - before parting her lips, tentatively.

She tasted sour, yet faintly sweet as I drank her scent up greedily - my tongue retreating back into my mouth before entering her completely. Her hips moved, but barely - mostly as result of the tumultuous wreck Liryl had become above as I ate her out. When it seemed as if she had reached her limit, I stopped to a half-cry of disappointment - instead sucking an a tiny nib of flesh above her entrance, while sliding a single finger into her cavernous warmth. Liryl gasped, but could not quite moan - all her energy going into not collapsing as she shook wildly, sweat coating her skin and dripping down from her breasts, to her thighs, down to my waiting tongue.

While she shook under the pains of sweet agony, Liryl managed to find enough resolve to pry the shirt from my back, buttons catching against me to both of our laughter - but we had no time nor interest in unbuttoning it. Then her fingers danced feverishly to my slacks, intent on yanking them off with the same haste. I quickly removed my other hand from where it had settled comfortably around her waist to unzip my slacks and shake them to my ankles, letting Liryl remove them and my boxers with a fevered rush of fingertips against skin.

I felt my rod break free - and her fingers dance across it's engorged shaft, the tip expanding even further between them as they pumped it up and down enthusiastically. I tilted my head back to moan in unexpected pleasure and surprise - and in that moment, Liryl seized her chance, pulling herself up and mounting me in a single fluid motion, her hips dropping onto me in a hot mess of desire as the delirious warmth inside of her wiped all other thoughts from my mind - I needed her, right now.

The walls of her slit clung to my rod tightly - I was so deep I could barely see myself as she ground against me. The only sign that we were unbreakably interlocked, besides the occasional flashes of my meat in the air as she rode it feverishly, was the mess of our fluids staining our hips and growing more sloppy against our skin by the second. My fingers ground into her thighs, helping her rock against my even as I could see her teeth biting into her lips and her eyes rolling back into her head. But she was too warm, too wet - I wanted her too much, and I could feel it welling up inside of me.

For the first time, moaning and yelling her name in a haze of desire - I came into Liryl, the warmth of my seed spilling into her and dripping out of her even as she continued to ride me, sloshing against her hips, her stomach - even the underside of her breasts as I came wildly. But Liryl was hardly done, unwilling simply to stop there. Her face hinted at her own building pleasure, still yet to reach it's zenith as she rode me furiously, her arms strained and sweaty as her body rocked against mine with a desperate need.

Her breasts swayed and bounced as a pale blush began to rise against her cheeks - her blonde hair falling all over her face in scattered strand as she rode me so furiously that my skin began to feel as if it were burning from the heat of her body. My shaft began to ache, even as it continued to spurt into the divine release of her depths - and finally, with a shuddering of her body, Liryl collapsed onto me, the sweat-and-cum-stained surface of her skin pressed down against me as she held me so tightly I wondered if she might start once again.

Finally - hesitantly - I moved to brush the strands of hair from where they obscured her eyes.

As we stared at each other on the lichen-bed in the forest, I felt her lips, soft and gentle, against mine... Followed by the imperceptible warmth of her smile.

The trees closed around us, quietly...


	7. Day 4: Journies and Destinations

For the first time in what seemed like ages, I slept peacefully.

No dreams of children being kidnapped in the dark, of mechanical monsters and tortured friends.

And yet, as the last grains of sleep fled from my eyes - everything sank in all at once, washing over me in a swell of unfiltered and uncontrolled emotions.

I'd slept with Liryl. She still clung to me tightly, her arms wrapped around my shoulders and pulling tightly, even in the throes of sleep. Her body was sprawled out above mine, and I could still feel it's warmth. Her slight, stuttering breathes were only rarely punctuated by the occasional shift of her body, hips unmoving from where they lay firmly locked to mine.

... I could alreayd feel myself growing hard, again. Embarrassed, I thought about getting up - but doing so would've dislodged her to the ground, and I had no intention of doing that. My fingers cradled her neck subconsciously as I thought about her - and I turned my eyes from the red forests around us to the woman nestled against me. Strands of blond hair, normally straight yet curled by the night before, hung over her shuttered eyelids. I brushed the strands away, gently. Her eyes opened, blinking against the light as a half-smile slid wordlessly to her lips.

Neither of us said anything. What was there to say? I'd wanted this - apparently, not as much as she had. But what now? Despite claiming that she wanted just this moment... I couldn't shake the feeling of how right this was, how good it felt to be next to her; and with that, the fragile state it existed in. When my time here was up, what next? Would Jeremiah live up to his original promises, destroy the portal machine - destroy this tiny happiness that Liryl and I had stumbled to?

By far, the easy option was not to think about it. Despite my protests though - I don't think I liked that option. I don't think many of us like easy options, for better or for worse.

"Hey, you. G'morning."

... As far as post-coitus pick-ups go, it probably could've been a bit better.

"I am - Well."

Liryl's grin threatened to spill over her teeth if she kept smiling like that. She wasn't even blushing anymore, simply smiling so brightly it outdid the red leaves fallen around us.

"You seem to be a little... Thoughtful, however. Was - it not -"

"No. No no! No. No. That was, uhmn... "

Laughing like a moron, my sentance slipped out of my head as Liryl slid over me - intentionally, if the slightly cruel spark in her eyes was any indication.

"Amazing. Please don't do that right now, I need to talk to you.

"It can't... Wait?"

"... Maybe just a little."

We took our time cleaning up - my back was pretty sore from the second night that it'd been overworked, though the lichen really did work as a good blanket. We didn't have anything on hand for breakfast, but Liryl pointed out some trees which had fruits - I think they were fruits - roughly the size of my fist. They were a darker, brownish-red then the leaves and their taste was rich and similar to roasted chestnuts. We ate several as we made our way back to the train... Very lazily, with Liryl often stopping me to point out tracks in the landscape from animals that managed to stay one step ahead of us.

Thankfully, that gave me a little time to build up my courage.

"Liryl - Are you really happy, here?"

That wasn't what I had meant to say at all, but Liryl perked up slightly at my words, eyeing me over inquistively.

"Yes. I am - very happy, here. This place is my home... And even if it is... Like this, and I am the last - I... Cherish it. Why do you ask?"

Shuffling my shoulders nervously, I tried to find the answer to myself - and did, though it took all my energy to ask.

"There isn't any future here for you, Liryl... Come with me, to my world. It's strange - but you said you wanted to see different places, didn't you? What could be more different than another world..? I - If you wanted to live with me, I - "

Liryl laughed quietly, but without malice.

"You certainly move quickly, don't you... I - I would very much like to visit your world. But I do not think... I want to stay there. I told you before. Even if this ends... I am happy with this. We have been lucky to have... This moment. Perhaps it will continue, perhaps not. But the future will find me - and it will find me, here."

It was my turn to laugh - well, more a combination of blushing, smiling, and awkward laughter, but I've never been a stickler for details.

"Well said. I just - "

Grasping for words, I came up empty. Emptiness...

I could barely remember what it had been like to grapple with deadlines, with editors, with the people around me. It seemed like so often I would find excuses to avoid spending time with others, simply because I found their presence draining - even if I enjoyed their company. And yet here, each day seemed to pass too quickly, every moment seemed too brief.

" - Guess I'm crushing on you pretty bad, Liryl."

"Crushing... On?"

"Find you irresistably attractive, and attractively irresistable."

"So I see. I guess I - am crushing on you rather bad, as well."

Beaming at me, Liryl pushed herself back to the train as we bid the forest farewell. Even though we'd only explored a tiny fraction of the leaf-strewn landscape, I wanted to come back and explore it again, more thoroughly. My breath caught in my throat as a memory of last night flashed through my mind, the feeling of being deep inside of Liryl still as vivid as if we were... Right now -

As the door began to shut behind us and the train made the slow, hours-long journey home, Liryl shot me an appraising look - her fingers darting to her lips in an attempt to hide her smile. Her eyes flickered from mine to the growing length I was doing a poor job of attempting to hide.

"You seem to be blushing... I never did, manage to get you - to finish that sentance, did I?.."

"I'm a writer - we suffer from vivid hallucinations, madness and the like. An essential part of the human condition, ehe -"

My nervous laughter was cut off as Liryl wheeled towards me. With me standing at my full height, her head barely rose above my stomach. An extremely devious expression was playing across Liryl's face, and that energy spread to me like a manic electricity.

"... We don't really... Have anything to hide, do we?... I want you - to finish it."

My irises locked with hers as she stared up at me, blue lanterns peeking through still-messy blond hair.

I took a deep breath, and killed the last of my resignations.

"Sure."

"I was imagining fucking you, vividly. I hadn't known you were going commando under that sundress - maybe waiting for a chance to get me where you wanted me. Was that fire..?"

She'd looked confused at the term commando, but nodded a little as I mentioned the fire. So I guess that dream hadn't been a dream, either... Her eyes didn't budge from my mine, though when she spoke - it was breathy, quiet.

"... Please. Continue."

"Even if it was a beach, if I'd known - if I'd been more confident, I would have taken you then and there, Liryl. Every time I caught the wind moving your dress, teasing me with the shape of your body - I wanted to kiss you, collapse to the beach in a wet sloppy mess, see you splayed against the sand. Your eyes looked so inviting, like a reflection of the sea - "

My sentence cut off as I heard the click of my slacks followed by the rustle of a zipper. I'd been staring straight ahead, lost in the reverie of a memory that hadn't even happened - well Liryl eased my eager cock into her outstretched hand, looking pleased as her fingertips teased its head. My hips slid forward a little, thrusting without me even thinking - and Liryl grinned, pushing me back with her free hand. The slow rumble of the train made he voice sound even more quiet and far away as she whispered-

"Keep... Speaking. Don't look."

Without explaining any further, she slipped her hand from where it had been ever so lightly teasing my shaft - and raised it to my chin, turning it away from the aquamarine eyes that threatened to drown me if I stared too deeply.

I gave a hesitant gasp that I hoped served as a yes.

"But it started before then. When I came back at first, and we met again after all this time... No, before that, when we first laid eyes on one another. I've wanted you since that moment. I've wanted to tear your robes to the ground and feel your body trembling against my own - w-wanted to cup your breasts underneath my fingertips, and feel the nubs of your... I wanted to - taste your lips, to feel your kiss still lingering as our bodies - "

As the track rumbled sonorously forward, her fingertips left my length - and I felt my body shudder as the tip of her tongue danced across my skin. I could feel her saliva as it mixed with the drizzle of precum that had already started to tremble from her teasing ministrations... But even as sweat trickled across my brow, I couldn't bring myself to look down -

Even as I felt her lips slowly closing around my shaft, and taking it into her mouth - a mouth that only moments before had been staring at me with a devilish smile.

" - Crashed against one another... I imagined your skin, pale and coated with sweat, and my cum. I wanted to see you panting as I - "

My mind blanked as I felt myself unable to hold out any longer. I could feel the warmth of Liryl's mouth pull back a little in surprise - but it staid firmly locked around my shaft, pumping up and down enthusiastically as I came into her waiting lips. Finally, I heard Liryl lean back, and the lick of those same lips - the tip of her tongue sliding playfully against my dick as it trembled against the sudden, cool, air.

"It was... Surprising. You taste - saltier, than I would have thought... But not unpleasant."

Liryl's fingers - still sticky themselves from playing with my shaft - slid down my thigh, tickling my leg as they went. I took it as a sign and risked a look down. Liryl was beaming up at me - only the quickness of breath and the slight white stain upon her lips giving a hint of what had just occurred.

"That was amazing. But turn about is fair play, Liryl."

Her eyes widened comically, as if she couldn't believe what I was saying - and as a luminescent red blush lit up her cheeks, Liryl shook her head furiously.

"N-no need..! There is really... No need, I'd thought - you'd done so much to make... Me feel nice, yesternight - "

"Did it ever occurred to you that maybe I enjoyed it?... Besides. I wanted to hear your secret, since you heard mine... Or part of it."

We'll have to share more, later. With less talking, and more -

The blush on Liryl's cheeks only widened, but she grinned in faux-resignation.

"I suppose that's fair. I - I'll just... Admire the ceiling, then - "

"And you can't look."

"No. I suppose I - cannot."

Her eyes shut for a moment, as if trying to carve everything about the day onto her eyelids - then a blissful grin spread onto her face and she began to speak.

"At first I thought you had been talking... About yourself, which I thought was somewhat egotistical... If amusing. And only - half-true..."

I snickered, at first.

"... It isn't a monster. It's beautiful. I'd been just so happy to see - someone else. I thought at first it might be only that... But... "

My laughter faded as Liryl's shoulders twitched in recollection. I shook my head, and remembered my task - easing her sundress up just enough to expose the tiniest hint of her slit, I moved her knees to the side with my fingertips, taking my time to feel the smoothness of her skin - and tracing them inwardly, enjoying the growing trepidation in her breath as my fingertips slid from thighs, to her hips, to her slit...

"There had been others I found... Attractive. I do not know how many... Saw me, that way. But I saw you... And I wanted to, aaah... The moment I saw you - I wanted to hurl you to the ground and r-ride you until you could not move from the spot. I - Wanted to take your hands in me - and, feel our fingers intertwined as I... Brought you to your limits time and... Time again... I... "

I could feel myself hardening again as she spoke. Liryl had wanted all that? My fingers were already smeared with her juices - the soaking wet sound of them easing in and out of her the only other sound for moments before I realized she'd stopped speaking, merely gasping quietly and irregularly as the train continued silently on its journey. I slowly moved my fingers out and her hand flailed as if to grab mine - then stopped as she realized what she was doing, and gave a nervous, esctatic laugh. I kissed the opening of her lower lips - and slid my tongue into her. Her fingers pulled tightly against my hair.

"I - Imagined you time and time again... When I pleasured myself. I thought about your body... Sloshing against mine, thick with desire... That you wanted to give to me - "

Liryl's voice trailed off into a hoarse, stuttering moan as I drank her in. I could feel her walls closing around me and contracting as my tongue pushed further and more feverishly into her, savoring the pressure and slight squirming it felt in return. As more and more of her delicious juices drifted onto my lips, I felt her fingers tighten imperceptibly - and then her body went surprisingly limp. I moved my head back to ask her if everything was all right - and her arm regained energy manically, pressing my head firmly back under the folds of her sundress. Gleefully, I obliged.

Neither of us spoke much for the rest of the ride home - the only other sound besides the rythmic pounding of the train against tracks the sound of my flesh against hers as Liryl squirmed against the moss-like safety of the train seating, her eyes shining like tiny fires upwards as we made love for the second time. When finally we stepped out of the train proper, her body was streaked with the white stains of my cum - and both of us were panting for breath as if we had forgotten how to draw air. Neither of us had bothered dressing.

As we made our way upstairs, Liryl took her arm in mine... Similarly to how we'd left on the train.

"... Will you come with me?.."

I nodded, and Liryl took me into her room.

The floor was spartan, the only sign that it was lived in the faint tread of wheeltracks in the dust, and the occasional wire from the disassembled birdman lying scattered across the room. Shelves containing small trinkets, drawings - some by a much younger Liryl, others almost photo-realistic and mostly crammed full of cross-sections and linear notes, and still others apparently drawn by the Priests - or perhaps, the thought entered my mind, by other wards, now gone. Opposing it, where a window might normally be was a dresser - it didn't have too many sets of clothes, and most were the same style of brown robes I had seen Liryl first wear.

A workbench at the corner of the room was littered with machinery and tools - some of which looked similar to those I knew about, and others the likes of which I had never seen. Hempen ropes strung with shell-ornaments and pieces of polished metal spun lazily from the ceiling, making quiet chimes as they did. The light arced towards the only real furniture in the room - a simple bed with brown blankets and a wooden chest at the base. The chest was so full of books, scrolls, and tools that it would hardly shut. My eyes looked to Liryl - who was staring at me, nervously.

"This is... I... Welcome."

I embraced her tightly.

We spent the rest of the day in Liryl's room - she offered to find me spare copies of the robes the priests here had worn, but I felt strange wearing the clothes of someone so long gone beneath the sea. Instead, I took a needle and thread from my bag, and begin the painstaking job of mending my clothes. Liryl watched, seemingly entranced - and then silently produced a plant-vellum like scroll of her own, and begin to draw.

Time passed, and we both worked in silence. When I was done with my own clothes, I began to mend hers - the edges had been frayed and torn from the force and somewhat neglectful desperation of our previous passions. Then - after interrupting her sketching with the question of what to do with them - I washed them in the basin of purified water, and hung them out to dry in the waning sunlight.

After that I returned and began to write. At first, records of the world I was in - but about halfway through, I realized that any traveler finding their way to this world wouldn't be able to read my chickenscratch anyway, and started something else. A sort of modern fairytale - it probably wasn't very original, but I liked it. My mind was brought out of the skritching of my pencil by a gentle tap on my shoulder.

I turned my face from my writing and the pencil dropped from my fingertips. Blushing furiously, Liryl held out her scroll - where she had drawn me, writing.

... Her bed was soft, and as I pulled her tightly against me, I felt a strange sense of security fall over me. The mobiles above drifted in and out of vision, their colors and sounds seeming to whisper that the two of us were safe here.

Then everything faded away - everything, save for the warmth of her body as it clung desperately and powerfully to my own.


	8. Day 5: Looking to the Past...

A pale light filtered through the room.

Liryl had been working for some time - she was far more of an early riser than I. I'd groggily offered to help her up - but Liryl had insisted that I rest, or perhaps really that she be allowed to do things on her own. Sleepy as I was - and respectful of her wishes - I was only too happy to let her do as she pleased.

It was a pleasure to watch her rise off of me, lithe body highlighted with that same orange light. She stretched once - then twice, as she watched me watching her. The little curl of her lips made me even happier then the way her pert breasts pressed together in that fleeting moment - there was no rush, no desperate moment to tear us apart. The rest of these days were ours.

... Liryl used her entire body to pull herself around the room. Though it had taken me some time to notice how subtly she used - or perhaps could use - her hips, watching them shift slightly and the small of her back arc as she pulled herself to the wheelchair she used was beautiful. I admired both her quiet strength, and her casuality - and for a moment, wished I was an artist instead of a writer. I thought back to the detailed drawings Liryl had done and I shivered.

But while I drifted in and out of sleep, Liryl had already set to the day's work - sprawling an array of wires, parts, and valves out onto the workbench I'd seen before. Some I recognized by appearance if not by name, but others looked more like mechanical sea anemone, or even as if they had been carved from solid roots instead of made from wrought metal. She worked quietly enough not to disturb me - but my fascination kept me too focused to drift fully back into the realm of dreams.

She did not focus on herself at all as she worked - shifting and tilting her self-cut blond hair out of the way as if it were a nuisance, and nothing more. It was almost as if she was one of the machines she was working on; quiet, industrious, and focused towards a goal. A thought entered my mind of the priests who would once called this place home as well... Was it possible that they had encouraged this..? I remembered an audio-visual log Liryl had shown me, recorded from some time ago. No - if anything, it seemed like this is who she had chosen to become, and I liked it as all the rest of her.

Managing to suppress my - admittedly pretty sore - morning wood, I tried to find the energy to pull myself out of bed. To my surprise, it wasn't quite as difficulty as I'd made it out to be. I opened my mouth to speak to Liryl - but closed my lips as I saw that she was still hard at work. We were similar perhaps in that manner. I imagined all the times my editor had called me, and all the times I had put off discussions with others to do things I felt (rightly, or wrongly) to be more important. Leaving Liryl to her work, I quietly slipped outside.

To my pleasant surprise, the warm sun had already left my clothes all the drier - if not a little more blanched - then they had been before. Removing them from the one of the many strings hung from the temple interior that Liryl used as impromptu clotheswires, I dressed in silence and watched the lazy orange sky above me grow steadily more red. It almost seemed natural, by this point. Throwing Liryl's dress under my arm, I slipped back into the temple proper, and quietly placed it back into Liryl's room.

She was still hard at work - fiddling with something that looked as if it had long ago been a mechanical arm, or perhaps something like it. Her eyes were clouded as if contemplating countless options, all of which had her interest. I decided it was best to still leave her to her devices, though the sight of her, naked and working animatedly, continued to make me yearn for the ability to capture her in art almost as much as I yearned for her. But - if there was one thing that I knew worked well to help keep the spirit of industry going...

It took me awhile to find the 'pantry' in the temple. Like most stored goods, it was down in the basement. Unlike most goods - or perhaps most pantries - there were no cupboards. Only huge containers of an iron-like material and a strangely floral design that 'unfurled' as I pried their lids outward. Inside were bags, tightly sealed and carefully labeled in what I could now recognize as Liryl's precise handwriting. One seemed to be a kind of flour, and that was enough for me. With the supplies I'd brought with me, I set about creating fried biscuits, coffee, and tinned orange juice - a fitting meal while the sky stayed so vividly colored.

Regretting that I had no syrup and didn't know enough about the rest of the materials to risk making one out of them, I took my bounty back into Liryl - who had gotten dressed in what I could only describe as a sort of priestly mechanics jumpsuit. She was spinning idly in her chair, not looking at the workbench and instead biting her lip. So lost in thought was she that when I stepped through the door carrying breakfast, she leaned back in surprise and nearly fell out of her chair! Looking beet-red, Liryl coughed several times.

"I hadn't... I did not see you there! You shouldn't - sneak up on me so suddenly. Is that... Food?"

Turning her head slightly to the side to stare confusedly at my - all right, pretty meager - breakfast offerings, Liryl slowly grinned from ear to ear, the redness fading from her face and only remaining in her eyes - as if I'd given her something more precious than just fifteen minutes of my time in the kitchen.

"This is... The first time, I think... Someone has cooked something for me. Thank you..!"

"What, does before not count? I mean, I know instant oatmeal isn't really cooking, but -"

Liryl was laughing, quietly and exuberantly.

"You know - I, I cannot remember the last time... That I could say I woke up... Hoping, just a little... To have someone share - their breakfast with me. It was such a minor thing I'd forgotten... All about."

Wheeling over to me with great speed, Liryl closed the distance between us so that her face was right in front of my chest. Her smile grew quieter and more subdued - not less joyous, but better contained. Tracing a single finger across my chest, she whispered something unintelligible between the quietness of her voice and the background static that interupted her as she spoke.

... Though I imagined I knew well enough as she held me tightly, and I held her back.

Of course, Liryl found plenty to complain with the actual breakfast itself, as (unfortunately) did I - cooking with xenoflour was nothing like cooking with the stuff I was used to; it was coarser even the the wholest wheat grain, and yet a little too sweet, as if the dough itself were laced with a fine coating of sugar. At least I hadn't added syrup, but it made me wonder about whatever plants might grow in a place like this...

"... Would you like to visit the - archives..?"

My heart skipped a beat. The prospect of knowing more about this world, and all of its ancient secrets - sounded amazing. My writers heart beat fiendishly at the idea I might be able to spend days listening to those who'd come before go on about their world; worldbuilding was perhaps the best part of my writing, and if even a few were narrated by Liryl, well... She must've noticed my expression, because the slightly embarrassed smile she'd held (the archives must be important, then) grew deliciously crafty.

"If you're thinking... It's just me talking to you, I'm afraid most are - just the priests, and those... Who came before. So it will be important for you to study and not... Slack off! Maybe I'll even test you with the test... I was given before I became an official ward of this... Temple."

Her voice grew excited at the prospect - her eyes growing bright and focused. My hands drifted to my brow thoughtfully.

"... Liryl, would that make me a ward of this temple, as well?"

"Yes."

Her voice was so quiet I could barely make it out of the electronic stuttering that interspersed her speech - but it made me grin all the same.

"Guess I'll have to do well then. It'll be damn hard to focus if it isn't you talking about things though. I take it you probably don't want to waste time going over stuff that's probably really simple, do ya?"

"Not in the... Slightest! Though I might help you out if you have questions and... Ask nicely!"

Her chiming laughter grew quiet as something unpleasant drifted across her expression. I noticed her hands draw close together, wringing against one another in a gesture that was highly unusual to see her make.

"Do you... Prefer my voice... Before - "

I stared at her, unblinking.

"I love your voice, Liryl. I love pretty much everything about you."

Giving the sky outside - which had failed to dim even as the dawn begin to fade lazily into the afternoon - a run for it's money with my blush, I tried to avoid Liryl's adoring (and slightly predatory) stare.

"D-don't make me repeat it or anything, geeze. Anyway. Seems I've got some studying to do - if I want to impress you that is, and maybe make a better breakfast than crunchy flatbread biscuits. Maybe you'd be interested in sharing what you're working on with me when I come back..?

Nodding her head enthusiastically, Liryl brushed a strand of stray hair out of her face - our fingers touching as we both reached for it at the same time. Time seemed to stand still and I kissed her forehead. Liryl's eyelids fluttered.

"I would like that very... Very much. Although you may not understand all of it -"

"More than likely. I figure you can explain the hard parts and I'll just create an elaborate fantasy about what the rest does!"

"- That would... be fine by me! It'll just mean you get to be more surprised when... It's finished!"

Rising up to to the tip of her chair, Liryl's lips greeted mine in a firm kiss, different from the sloppy ones we'd shared in the heat of passion before. Our lips didn't part for moments as I tasted her breath on mine. When we finally pulled away, the air surged into my lungs and it took all my effort to mutter a feeble comment about seeing her later, and stumble off to the archives. For her part, Liryl looked extremely pleased...

The archives, however, were not exactly what I'd expected. Each consisted of a small terminal in one of the many spiraling chambers of the temple proper - terminal after terminal that grew out of the floor like a tiny horn. More of the symbolic writing (why was it so different from the common script? Was it a purely ornate way of writing the language I'd seen others write, mutually intelligible to english?) lined the wood-and-copper like surfaces of them, and to my surprise - they spun slowly when touched.

Holding my hand to a terminal, I waited several seconds for it to 'boot' up, as we talked of the computers back home. As it did, messages and symbols flashed into the air, with a neutral voiceover narrating. With my free hand, I could select the symbols or places, and more would appear - before long, hours had passed and all I had learned were popular names of a canid-like animal that was now sadly lost due to the largely agricultural and island-drifting world, at least in domesticated form.

Most of the history was sung by the priests - some young, some old, most joyous and smiling as they recounted tales that had been recounted to them, time and time again. There was a lot of repetition of these tales - but hearing each version, with it's changes and re-evaluations, was itself telling. I learned of how the attitude towards machinery had gradually gone from the admiration of a tool, to a superstitious fear, to the love and restraint shown now. Of the drowning tides that had only stopped as the old factories and megapolises sank beneath the tides.

Of the priests realizing their time was likely drawing to a close, and yet facing each day with optimism and a sense of hope. Some personal stories were not so hopeful, of course - scared, or confused, or lost, perhaps. But these too had been memorialized and in them I felt strangely hopeful. As if, perhaps - no matter how terrible things got, I was not alone. The faces of the frightened initiates and aged ones alike seemed to grow brighter and more positive as they finished recounting their worries to the terminal. Perhaps, I mused quietly, it would not be a bad idea for me to try at some point.

... But the holographics I watched most were those depicting Liryl. She had indeed... Not always been so confined. I rewatched several of the recordings both before and after her accident to try to understand if she had changed - perhaps, how she had changed - in response to it. I was left with more questions than answers. What was certain that the priests of this place had always seen their ward - Liryl - as something special, perhaps both due to her being a ward of the temple and then - after the accident - unlikely to leave it, as well.

... I could not tell if I respected them for their pity, or felt as if they looked down on her, and grew angry at the thought. It was not my place to say - Liryl respected them, and whatever feelings she held were her own.

Perhaps most interesting was how quickly Liryl had taken to machines - both those responsible for helping her breathing and her spine performing as it should, and those that allowed her to move around; the various conveyance systems built into the temple proper. It was no surprise she'd create this world's equivalent of the wheelchair relatively quickly after it became clear she would need to rely on herself. But there was something almost spiritual in the way she interacted with the machinery, and watching her reflection in the later recordings - talking of discoveries she'd made and how best to utilize them - sent shivers of a different sort down my spine.

If you wanted to find a word for it... Pride.

It took me some time to realize Liryl had quietly rolled into the archives. Perhaps she'd been watching me, and for some time. Her expression was blank - not judgmental, but simply waiting for me to speak of my own accord.

"... I won't lie, I didn't take too many notes about the flora and fauna; but I figure I'll probably do better tomorrow morning. There's a lot here to learn though, let me tell ya!"

A flicker of a smile crossed her lips, but she did her best to hide it.

"You had... Taken some time to return, so I wanted to make sure... You hadn't left."

She fidgeted in her chair, uncomfortably.

"I wouldn't leave, Liryl. Is that - what you really were worried about?"

"... I... Did not want you to think that I - lost something. I do not want you to think that I am incomplete."

She spook firmly, and without regret. Our eyes met, and did not budge.

"It's probably pretty heretical to suggest that any 'incompleteness' you have, I'd be willing to 'fill' right here and now, right?"

I gave Liryl my best cheesy grin, and to my relief she burst into spluttering laughter. Trying to look stern and reprimanding while bursting back into peals of snickering didn't help her credability, but did make me genuinely happy with myself.

"Very heretical... Though I imagine that if we were the last, it might not be... So bad."

... Her skin was pale in the eerie blue light cast by the terminals. The jumpsuit fell to her shoulders, just far enough to show off the toned strength of her arms. The shape it made as it fell around her only accentuated the small slopes of her breasts, as if inviting my lips to taste the rise of their tender flesh. It took me a moments to slide her out of the rest of her suit, and she looked confused as I took her in my arms and, with some effort, hefted her over and out of her chair.

That look of confusion left her entirely as I propped her against my waist, my fingers grasping her hips tightly. Instinctively, her arms reached for and against the wall - curling against it as I first tested her innermost depths with my fingers. I could only make out the side of her face and half of it's pleasantly glazed smile as her breath hung raggedly in the cool archive air - but as light as her body was, I couldn't hold it forever... Both my strength and my lust grew impatient even as her sticky lust coated my fingers with it's tantalizing sweetness.

Liryl moaned quietly as I entered her roughly, sinking into her deeply enough that as she contracted around me I could see her fingers going white against the wall. I leaned forward to kiss her, and she tilted her head to mine, stealing a kiss from my lips - a bit of saliva falling to the floor as she panted in surprise.

I thrust into Liryl forcefully, my fingers digging into Liryl's flesh and pulling her against me to get in as deeply as I could. Liryl squirmed and writhed against my grasp, trying to push herself further onto my length - our frustrations only mounting until my fingers slid up, cupping her breasts and pressing her ever more firmly against the wall. With a surprised and pleased groan, Liryl leaned forward -and I nearly tumbled further into her, fingers clutching her breasts tightly enough to leave red prints where they'd been as I sloshed in and out of her cavernous walls.

With every movement, I could feel the juices spilling from her onto me. I could feel ours mixing, dropping to the floor - feel the tiny bulge my dick created as it slid deeper into her. With every thrust I saw more sweat trickle down her back, felt her movement grow more frantic. Her hair stuck out in every direction, a golden maze from which I could just see the pinpricks of her ocean-blue eyes - when I could see anything but the white haze of my lust, as I came into her, time and time again.

Finally, I remembered pulling out, still jerking wildly as my seed splattered against her back, leaving a trail to match and mingle with her sweat. Exhausted, we collapsed to the floor and against each other.

It was a long and sore walk back to her bedroom - and neither of us made anything to eat that evening. But as ridiculously wide as our grins wore - it felt absolutely worth it.

And tomorrow, perhaps I'd even be able to share a little more of what I'd learned with Liryl. I thought of the 'test' she'd mentioned, half in joking - and my heart began to beat faster. Though the sky was a vivid and inky blue-black outside... I could not sleep.

... If I became as she was, a ward of this place... Would it be acceptable to live here? Would it be fine if - things just stayed like this?

I mused on things for some time - and found every possible leading back to the woman sleeping on top of me, a content and peaceful smile upon her lips. On seeing that smile - my worries faded away, and the peaceful obliteration of sleep swept over me, swiftly and welcomed.


	9. Day 6: ... Reconstructing the Future

For the first time since I had defeated the dark being and returned home alive - I had a dream.

... Not a good dream necessarily, nor a poor one. But a dream of iron and steel, entertwining serpent-like with the rusted out husks of buildings that looked as if they had been bleached as clean as bones. The rythmic pounding of forges echoed throughout my skull like a quarry of mechanical lovers, while the unending drone of klaxxons seemed to grow ever louder. Though I could not hear the waves over the cacophony... I could feel my feet growing soaked as I stood still. The tide would soon be here, and with it's arrival I would be gone.

People poured passed me in a grasping horde, their violent eyes glazed and skittering over one another as if each other single person was not another living being, but something to be feared and hated - a danger to be overcome. To my horror, I saw people pushed to the ground, beaten, trampled on. Those left were quickly forgotten or perhaps not even noticed at all, as more people cascaded onwards and forwards - and over them all, the droning roar of the sirens grew louder till, until it cut off in a halting crescendo.

My eyes turned skywards - but there was no sun, and no sky.

Above the plaza I stood in alone, save for the dying and the dead -

Waves taller than any skyscraper roiled against one another, before crashing down.

... I awoke to a start. Liryl had already started working, though I couldn't see what, exactly, she was working on. I must have made a sound or a cry of some kind, for she wheeled around in her chair, concern visible along the ocean-light of her eyes.

My hands had gone into the air unconsciously, trying to protect myself from something still vividly remembered.

"Are you.. All right? That was such - a horrifying sound - "

Liryl's voice was deep with concern, but all I managed was a weak nod of my head, and an even weaker smile.

"Definitely, yeah. Just -"

I grimaced. Hell, there was no reason to mince words with her - I trusted Liryl, and that dream had been...

"Actually, I still remember it. Vividly. I feel like it was a glimpse of... Well, at first I figured it was your world. The tides were relentless, but worse still were the people. They had no care for one another, nothing but resentment. Each one of them selfishly trod over one another, and in the end it was pointless. The wave must have hit with enough force to snap necks and break bones, and those that somehow survived the first were either hit by the subsequent waters or carried beneath them. But... More than that, I remember thinking it looked like the city I moved out of when I left for the coast..."

"That sounds... Awful. When I first - after recovering the accident, I often had... Similar dreams. Though in mine - I was being held... Beneath the waves, and no matter what I did, I - could not manage to bring myself to the waters above. There was - nothing, but the current, pulling me down..."

Liryl stared into space for several moments, than blew a strand of hair out of her face and smiled a little wryly.

"Dreams are not... So bad, however - even ones like ours. Perhaps it meant... You are worried about the future, or something to do with your... Home?"

"Not impossible, but the thing is - I'm not really, unless it's something really subconscious that I just can't see. It hit me more like a sucker-punch to the gut... Can I ask you a kind of odd question, Liryl?"

"You can ask me... Anything you like."

Liryl paused, and made an adorably mischievious face.

"Though I cannot promise... I'll answer you honestly!"

I was reminded of the song-rhymes the priests spoke in, and stifled my laughter - then gathered my thoughts before speaking once more.

"What do you plan to do here, Liryl?

She hummed to herself, as if she hadn't given it much thought before - the answer of someone who has thought about an issue perhaps every day, from the moment it occurred to them.

"... I will explore this world. I want to find... Every ruined city, every temple, every... Forest. To know all the animals still... Alive, and to see the burial lands of those now dead. To catalogue the stories of past and present that all who travel here... Might know. To grow old and die, surrounded by machines and the... Memories of my work, made by my own hand."

Her eyes shut, and a slight smile spread to her face.

"Is that really what you want, Liryl."

She opened her eyes - the blue lined with a steel more inflexible then that used in any of her machines.

"Yes."

"Then I'd like to you to visit my world, just for a day. I know you won't stay there - and circumstances... Might make it impossible for me to visit here again in the future."

My fingers tightened, both at my own greed, and at the reality of the idea that an untested portal designed by a - friendly, but eccentric - scientist was not the safest device to leave unleashed, especially with the world - my world - as it was now.

Liryl simply stared, shocked.

"You would not... Try to make me stay there? To leave this world behind..?"

My head shook, firmly.

"No. You mean a lot to me. As much as I might want it... You matter to me. What sort of person would I be if I treated the person I cherish like something to be caged and brought home?"

Her eyes shut again, eyelashes masking her smile - and serving only to highlight her few and unbidden tears.

"I - I would be... Honored to visit your world. In fact, I - Have been working on something, since before you returned... I thought it would be important... To have some way to travel around. Could you... Help me?"

Liryl beckoned to me, and it took me awhile to respond. Both to her, and the idea that she had asked me to help her. Nodding numbly and still smiling somewhat giddily, I stepped over - and finally caught sight of what she was working on.

The legs of the mechanical birdman had been removed, stripped, rebuilt, stripped again, and modified so many times as to be all but unrecognizable; lithe, with 'legs' that tapered off into feet similar to cloven talons. Wires and connectors of what looked to be plant fibers yet had a tensile strength as strong as any metal ran along the interior, tightly packed. Liryl grinned at me in pride.

"There is still a lot to be done. I am... Uncertain these will be complete before we visit, but - I feel that if you are willing to help me then, everything will be fine... And this way you know that I - will manage on my own. Though I do not think I would want... To wear these all the time-"

Liryl stopped, stammering, as I kissed her passionately. Her arms went to her sides for a moment before embracing me as she bit my lip gently, her tongue running over it and tickling mine as our lips interlocked.

Panting for breath as I drew back, I remembered something and tried my best to look less disheveled and more presentable.

"... That test you mentioned, Liryl. I'd like to take it."

She blinked several times, then nodded - slowly and with a great deal of solemnity I had yet to see. She circled me several times, her chair creaking against the floor - the only noise for a whole minute. I could almost feel her eyes boring into my skin.

"You are... Ready, I think. I cannot help you, however. Will you be..."

"I know you will be... Fine on your own."

She smiled as the thought occurred to her without a word from me - and then, with surprising speed, she reache forward and toussled my hair. It had admittedly grown a little bit shaggier than expected, but I laughed even though it felt nice to feel her return the favor - both the little gesture, and her confidence.

"Show me the way, then. I'll return after I've either succeeded - or failed terribly."

Grinning widely with a purpose I was surprised to actually feel, Liryl once again took my hand - and led me upwards, to the same chamber that possessed most of the communications equipment. She fiddled with several settings for a moment, and after a moment, several holograms blurred into being - I was suprised, though not very, to notice that they wore clothes similar to mine - that of my world, though somewhat worn from saltwater and heat. Their expressions were haggard - but hopeful.

The first of the three figures - two women, one man - spoke. Her voice was reedy and quiet, as if she gave a great deal of thought to every word she said. My eyes slid to my side - but like smoke, Liryl had disappeared. Nodding and steeling myself, I listened.

"This world is composed of endless possibilities, each possibility a world all it's own. Though we have witnessed the fall of our ruins we have withstood the ravaging tides, and as the spring beckons towards us we will sow our hopes to grow. What then, do you seek to repereset you as you take the mantle of priest?"

None of the figures judged me as I took my time to answer; they did not repeat the same motion endlessly, but occasionally shuffled or looked around as I thought, and then spoke. The questions and answers continued for some time, and I found myself growing more certain as I spoke.

I told the figures of my desires to write - to create new worlds, even if they only existed in fiction. To record the things around me and embellish them with fiction, or memorialize them as fact; or close as my mind would allow me to recognize any subjective thing as fact. Perhaps, even as I grew tired from standing and speaking, I imagined them laughing quietly at my answers - or perhaps they were still and silent, only listening patiently as I spoke also of the love that had grown for this world, dying as it was yet so rich with life - and of my love for Liryl.

She was not here to hear me, and so my words spilled out inelegantly. I also recognized that it was a love perhaps existing only to be fragmented once more as our worlds disentangled through whatever science had let me cross from the portal on earth to this realm of Planet; but that then, I wanted to create some memory of it, something so that even if I never set foot on the warm sands of these beaches, never once more spoke with her in conversation... There would be memory of our time together that perhaps she might find.

My words fell on ears long-dead and lost to time, and yet I cold not shake the feeling that the digitized priests understood what I said - or the emotion behind it. As I finally stopped, unable to say anymore and feeling exhausted, the second woman held up her hand. She did not smile, but neither did she frown.

"You have passed. Consider yourself a priest then, and our kin. Uphold your duty - to love Nature and preserve those you love, to see the world around you grow and flourish - to not repeat, for in repetition lies the mistakes we have made. Go now, and learn and in learning pass on all that you may. And eventually, we shall meet once more."

The figures smiled - then disappeared in a twang of old machinery as the simulation, if that had been what it was, ground to a halt.

My vision swam in and out of focus as I rose to my feet, blood pumping irregularly to my head. I felt dizzy - and at the same time exhilarated.

Outside the sun had risen... Again, as I realized just how long I had been speaking to the priests. Rushing into Liryl's room only to find her missing, I bolted from room to room in the temple then finally made my way to the beach in something of a confused haze, my elation depleting as I realized how tired and hungry I had grown.

... That feeling too, dispersed as my mouth nearly hit the ground. Liryl was lounging around outside, and talking with the familiar face of Doctor Krick. Slowly, my surprise turned into a smile and I stepped forward to speak with them - the sun belting down upon me as another thought entered my mind, terrifying as it was unavoidable.

Today had been my last day.


	10. Day 7: And All the Other Days that Were

You never get used to travel through other dimensions.

It sounds like the kind of thing you wouldn't think about - hell, I never expected it'd be something I'd put serious thought into. But the portal Jeremiah engineered, despite the secrecy in which it had been made, wasn't threatening. There was a kind of 'snap' all around you, a warmness to your skin that faded as quickly as the sense of being transported. And when it was over - there you were.

Maybe it would be different for other people - but I can't imagine that Jeremiah would've brought Mandy with him if he'd felt there was serious danger from the portal itself. The Doctor's very Northwestern sweater seemed terribly out of place on the mild and temperate beach; it'd probably been raining back home again. Both he and Mandy were wearing those big yellow boots you don't see as much anymore - perfect for digging for clams, or stomping through low tide and marveling at the tidal pools left over from the retreating of the waters.

And speaking of Mandy - she was very polite, but clearly interested in exploring the otherrealm herself, and it both amused and cheered me to see both Liryl and Jeremiah casting their eyes over at her cautiously in between a discussion that sounded to be about the nature of the portal itself. I wondered - perhaps, with Martin's passing, the good Doctor was the first chance Liryl had found to speak to someone who understood machinery the way she did..?

"You've... Returned, then."

Liryl was carefully cheerful. Her voice hinted at the possibility of excitement - she clearly had much she wanted to discuss, some of which could be said amongst new friends - and some of which was private. Given that I felt much the same way, I kept my tone as neutrally positive as I could, too.

"Sure have. I guess you two have already met and introduced, sorry I wasn't around to be part of the introductions!"

Grinning broadly at the Doctor, I took a seat on the sand next to them. Mandy took a few moments to laugh at my (admittedly amateurishly) mended clothes, but then distracted herself with a perfectly smooth rock that made a perfectly satisfying three skips across the water - though clearly, she'd been expecting a few more.

"Think nothing of it, my friend. The weather here has been a blessing after the rains back home - even for those fond of them, there is a time for clouded skies and a time for clear light ahead - even without a sun in present view, which - "

Clearly, Jeremiah wanted to ramble a bit, but he kept himself in check - much to my disappointment, to be honest, and obviously Liryl's too. People self-censoring themselves is a difficult block to get around; I probably wouldn't understand whatever the Doctor was going to talk about, at least not as well as Liryl - but I still wanted to listen to him all the same. What do you say in situations like that..?

Actually, there is... A sun, present. It's just... Very distant. The tidal cycles of Planet are... Changed, from what they once were."

"I can imagine! Would you believe this is the first time I have had to truly walk these beaches since the incident? And - I cannot began to say it, but I imagine that the world itself has changed, even since before your time! Why, the sand and soil themselves must tell a history... I should attempt to do a survey of their time, the state of their chemical composition!.. Ah."

Doctor Krick sighed, the clouds missing from the sky above marring his good mood.

"I am not one to mince words. I understand you two know one another - and know this arrangement is unsustainable?"

Liryl said nothing, but rolled towards me and placed her hand against mine. Her grip was strong as her silent expression - even though she shook, ever so slightly.

"Even if I wanted to keep the portal going, the materials and resources to do so are not only rare, but dangerous. I cannot justify risking my own safety, and that of my daughter - let alone the town we live in. With time, and effort - it might be possible to make a safer, more efficient device - but that is speculation, and nothing more."

Jeremiah began to walk along the beach, and seeing that, Mandy ran up to him. He smiled and raised her up onto his shoulders - a little unsteadily, from the weight of time and stress alike. We followed after them, leaving a trail of tracks and wheeltreads that disappeared into the sand as the water lapped against them.

"Of course. I was... Reconciled to that before this even became a possibility. And... Your daughter is wonderful. Even if it were... Just her sake, I would understand your judgement."

Liryl sounded more certain than she must have felt, but at the same time - I didn't think she was lying. If anything, I envied her rationality, or her ability to be both true to herself and so accepting of things that I guess I couldn't accept myself.

Her answer made Jeremiah smile a little, that enigmatic smile that always hinted slightly at mischief and optimism that I so respected about him. He was perennially hopeful - perennially of good cheer, and as his fingers tapped at his side, I could tell he was thinking about something that he didn't want to say himself. He began to speak several times, then stopped, instead asking Mandy about what she had found, and if she could think of a realistic taxonomic name for it. Liryl soon joined in, and finally I did as well - though after the best I could come up with was ' _Birdius Aquarius_ ' I was banned by popular vote from contributing further.

"Thank you for you understanding. I can only hope you will consider what I spoke about with you earlier?"

Liryl's reply was an expression so carefully balanced that it could've contained within it any emotion known to any of us.

"Certainly. I am... Glad we had the time to discuss it in private."

"Sounds serious!"

I started, trying to lighten the mood - but apparently, I'd misjudged both the Doctor and Liryl's severity, as both began to chuckle, Liryl drifting into a stuttering snicker that she couldn't easily hide - it just kept coming despite her attempts to stop laughing and numerous apologies. Though I wasn't in on the joke, after awhile I started laughing as well; sometimes, it's good just to be with friends and to share in their laughter and let your worries drift away.

But that reminded me.

"Doc."

I began, my turn to face the waters and skip a stone into it. Mandy shook her head in disappointment as my stone failed to bounce once, and carefully did her best to show me a better way to do it - I wasn't paying full attention, however, and failed to learn the secrets of the craft despite her best efforts.

"You don't have to dismantle the thing right away, right?"

"Certainly not! For one, that itself would be quite dangerous! What do you imagine I do, simply grab multiple components and iron them together with craft glue and soldered wire?"

Though his expression was incredulous...

"Uh, well, yeah."

I scorched under the heated glares of two technicians, trying my best to justify my opinion in that a lot of the 'tech' work I had done during my stint as a freelance adventurer had been pretty much that, and it had turned out well enough for me. 

"Although your lack of appreciation for my work is duly noted, I will guarantee you some time - though it would help me to know what you're planning, my friend..?"

Turning to Liryl, I took a deep breath.

"Would it be all right, if, just for a day, I brought Liryl through the portal?"

We all went silent for a moment.

How do you even answer that question? You could argue that we already breached some sort of cosmic doctrine of non-interference by coming into Planet, willingly or unwillingly. But Planet is a world alone, and Earth is teeming with life. I knew what I wanted - but not what was right.

"If it affects your decision, any... I would like to go. I promise that I will not be... Disruptive..?"

Liryl struggled for the words; and given the way she was fidgeting with her hair, I wasn't entirely sure that was the case. Even with the current design of her wheelchair, I couldn't imagine people not finding her unusual - at least. As for her personality, even with the ability to speak and understand one another - she was curious, and investigative. It would be impossible for her not to be interested in the world we came from, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Fortunately, Jeremiah hadn't been thinking of our concerns, clearly having decided in favor of us perhaps before he came.

"It's absolutely all right - I just am trying to think of the best way to ensure that my friend here will not end up disrupting things, himself. That and - the place we come from is rather small, and rather like your home here. I cannot imagine that it is the only place you two would want to visit?"

Coming to a conclusion, Jeremiah fished into his pockets and pulled out several crunkled tickets - despite them being stamped for today.

"Far safer than your car, I think. And to truly see our side - I think she... I think you would like to see the people there, yes?"

Liryl nodded, her eyes half-closed.

"Then let us go; the day is still young, and you should take as much of it as you can. I would like to do some things, myself - and I think Amanda has proven herself the most skilled stone-thrower in the land."

Beaming at his daughter, Jeremiah was met with an even prouder Mandy - though she had moved onto gathering things from the beach to take back, a little habit I was proud of myself. Though again - was it even right to take 'souveneirs' from this world with us? Where did the line between preserving the past and taking it for ourselves, piece-meal began?

I continued to overthink the matter as the portal, warm and comforting, enveloped us.

Pier Fifteen seemed like a hallucination after we'd finally pried Liryl away from the Doctor's house. I'd worried she was going to wear grooves in the wood floor from excitement and interest, but Jeremiah was infinitely patient - perhaps himself simply happy to have someone who didn't live continents away - metaphorically, in this case - to discuss his work with. Nevertheless, he was planning something and ushered us out not too long after. A good meal being the start to a good journey, we'd ended up at the Pier. At first, I'd worried somewhat about the reaction to Liryl, but -

"Wow, mister! Who's the lady friend?"

Nancy had whispered scandalously to me as she watched us come in from the pouring rain. Liryl had refused to move from her spot for a minute - almost euphoric, even after she was drenched and near rooted in-place from the mud around her wheels. Her hair hung around her head in matted clumps, but it looked even more beautiful to me - and besides, I must have looked as much a mess as she did. I was going to answer, but Nancy moved on to her next target with practiced ease.

"So, hey there! We've known each other for some time, that guy and me, but I don't think we've ever met? I'm Nancy."

She held out her hand and Liryl took it, a little sheepishly, parting her bangs with her other.

"Liryl. I... Uhmn - "

"Sounds foreign! Are you French? Ooo - or from wherever the Doc's from? Are you one of his Science Friends?" Nancy grinned wolfishly.

"In a manner of speaking..?"

Overcome, it seemed like Liryl was proud and incredibly shy all at once.

"I suppose you could say... I'm an engineer. The Doctor... Introduced us, and we've become..."

Liryl was cut off by a salacious wink from Nancy, who was enjoying the ability to make me retreat into my collar. Once you've worked the fryer with someone, your innermost soul is bared to them; a lesson for anyone who has yet to work the high-stakes, highly spiritually rewarding task in it's entirety. As a side note - Liryl was completely unphased.

"Say no more. But I mean, what do you do? Are you like, one of those nuclear engineers? I'm not really into nuclear power, it seems so dangerous!"

"I prefer... Mechanical engineering. I'm afraid I'm unfamiliar with... The latter."

"Well, I was just checking. It seems like everything is nuclear, these days... Anyway! Take your time, do you want something to drink? A soda, maybe some wine..? We don't actually have wine officially, but I could bring you some!"

"Naaaaaancy."

"Oh, c'mon! Live a little. I know you don't particularly like the stuff, but even a near teetotaller luddite should drink to their health once in a while!"

"Luddite..?"

"It's kind of a word for someone who never leaves their house and doesn't visit their friends enough."

"Actually, it's a word for someone who doesn't like machines - "

"Whatever. I'll be right back with your menus and some water." 

Grinning, Nancy left, the redness finally fading from my face even though I felt fantastic. Liryl grinned lopsidedly at me, water still falling from her hair. I moved closer to her in the booth, and brushed a few strands out of her eyes - and was close enough to see that if the sparkle in them was any indication, she was still laughing at me, just silently.

"You two... Certainly seem close."

"It's - actually a pretty short story. I worked here in between my mild commercial success. It's a good place, actually. See - they even have these mazes on the menu, I mean, that's not really that unique, but these ones are killer. I bet you can't solve one!"

Liryl narrowed her brows and smirked at me, saying nothing. To my extreme vindication however, her confidence soon turned to frustration and shock as she finally gave up on the Pier's latest maze as well, throwing her hands into the air in exasperation.

"Who would even... Make such a ridiculous complex maze! It should be that... As long as you stick to the left side..!"

"That'd be me. My job is to make the customers cry so much they just can't help but come back stronger! Cold tea for the mister, and some for yourself as well. I also brought water, because only amateur writers drink cold tea."

Nancy placed three drinks in front of us. Liryl sipped at her water first, but then tried the cold tea and found it satisfactory; I figured either she had an unknown gift for amateur writing or I had been vindicated for the second time in recent memory. 

"Well... It's not bad, but... Perhaps the next one could be... Easier?"

Liryl asked, to the reply of devilish laughter from Nancy - who knew no pity, only joy in the suffering of others.

We consoled ourselves with a shared side of wood-smoked salmon, and left as the sun reached the pillar of noon.

The bus into the city was packed with people. Mostly older folks who visited the countryside to 'get away from it all', half-asleep or reading quietly amongst themselves. Liryl was leaning against my side and trying to do her best to look as if she wasn't watching them - but she was. Her eyes flashed from person to person like blue lightning; taking in their loneliness, their satisfaction, their exhaustion - all of it, a memory she'd keep to herself for the rest of her life.

But it was the city that stopped her breath entirely. Perhaps it was the rise of the buildings, or perhaps it was the congestion of cars, the many new scents, the smog that I'd forgotten I was used to. I couldn't tell if it exhilarated her or depressed her; perhaps she couldn't tell herself. We got off the bus near a streetsign, dented from the occasional collision. Across the cause-walk was a bookstore, and near that a theater.

"So. Two choices. We could go sit down for a bout an hour or two and watch a story play out, similar to how the memories of the priests were preserved... Or we could go rummage around and look for books. I realize you probably won't be able to read them, but - "

Liryl fixed me with a defiant stare.

"I absolutely... Will! That's not even... A question, and I believe you must know that. Besides, an hour or two... Is a lot of time, isn't it..?"

Her voice waved for a minute. I thought of all the times I would look for an hour or two to 'kill time', and mulled over the reality she had of perhaps having nothing but such blocks of time - with little to do but to satisfy her own works. 

"Good call. You better be warned though - I'm far better at picking out good reads then I am at writing them."

My bold words were met with two inescapable facts. 

1): Liryl lost it inside the bookstore. We were lucky, as I had forgotten it had two floors, and the latter was only accessible by ladder; but as the lower floor was scattered with boxes, shelves, and bins of books new and old, it wasn't as catastrophic a decision as it could've been.

2): After perhaps thirty minutes of getting lost in covers and running her hand over pages she couldn't yet understand, Liryl squinted studiously at the display counter, which happened to be a display counter featuring regional publishers. Regional publishers which happened to include myself.

3): This was a disaster and I was bad at counting facts.

"What, exactly... Why is the cover a man jumping over a fire?"

"My editor insisted on it - "

Fourth mistake! FOURTH MISTAKE!

"Your... Editor?"

Liryl grinned from ear to ear, and my attempt to snatch back a copy of the book failed miserably. Wheeling over to the counter, she hailed down a man a bit younger then myself, whose brown hair was braided and whose love of famous bands was clearly visible stretched over the shirt he wore.

"'Sup, ladydude."

"I would like to purchase this."

"Hey, uh, man. She doesn't actually have any money, soooo - "

Liryl grinned enigmatically at me. Wait. Did she have money? Had I made a fifth mistake? Was I on mistake number five?

"Scratch that, I'll buy every copy you have. I mean, you can't have that many, right?"

"Dudeman, we have about seven-hundred at least. Like, in the back. Moving them has been a real pain, what are you, like, an amateur distributor or something..?"

Putting aside that I was disappointed at everything in his statement, I was also disappointed because my budget couldn't handle buying seven-hundred and fifty-plus copies of my own work.

Liryl coughed, and tapped the surface of the book against the counter - then began to set several others next to it. She'd chosen them mostly by cover, and from the looks of those covers, Liryl had a keen interest in the proud tradition of speculative fiction masquerading as harlequin romance; or perhaps vice-versa.

"I will take all of these. Just a minute..."

With that, she procured several heavy coins of a silver metal and placed them in the stunned hand of the clerk. He looked both ways, then checked above to make sure there were no security cameras - which there weren't. And despite the fact that I wasn't sure whatever currency she had payed in was something we should be bringing over to this side - I did nothing to stop her, and we left with a sackful of books each... Since I of course ended up buying a handful myself.

"I cannot believe... You assumed I wouldn't have some kind of currency. Planet... My world... Wasn't so different from this, I don't think..."

She was joking, but her voice hesitated, the burlap sack full of books bouncing in her lap as we walked through the city streets. Her world - Already, she spoke with the same past tense I'd felt when I was visiting Planet, and I imagine it weighed on her just as heavily. Is it really so easy to adapt to the unknown..? And is that something to be cherished, or feared?

To take her mind off of it, I took her on a tour of the city; past the great copper statue of a great dead man whose reason for alleged greatness alluded me. I bought a disposable camera, and we took several photos, which she loved; then I acquired her an instant-developing camera of her own, and at her own insistence a maintenance kit and instructions. She engaged with a lengthy conversation with the surprised and enthusiastic proprietor of the filmshop we visited, and by the time we were done the sun was heavy. Had time truly moved so quickly?

And there had been so many other things I wanted to show her, and clearly so many other places she wanted to go; she was fascinated with the idea of a 'water treatment plant', almost as fascinated as she was with the condemned fairgrounds that had failed to get funding the previous year.

And there simply wasn't enough time.

We were silent on the busride back; the pale blue glow of the buslights overhead both comforting and alien, all at once. It was my turn to lean against Liryl, who continued to stroke my hair distractedly, looking past the windows at the inky blackness outside and the ghostlines of passing trees.

It was a bit of a walk from the bus-stop back to my house, and a bit hilly besides that; but the rain had let up and Liryl insisted she push herself, though I managed to commander her books for the time being (even resisting my urge to pilfer my hideously covered work and feed it to the fire).

She was silent as the light flickered twice, then bathed the room in an artificial glow, biting her lip at the lack of... Everything, I suppose, in my house. The visage of the lighthouse was captivating to her, for a moment. But then she was carefully exploring my room and my possessions, and her feelings were a guarded secret I felt I had no right to ask.

"Do you truly... Live hear... All alone?"

Was her first question, to which I nodded, watching as the lighthouse ran it's pale lantern across the calm waters.

"It isn't really... Fair, is it..?"

"No, not really. But life never is."

"I disagree. Life is exceedingly... Fair. We end up altering it... Until things become more complicated. Or maybe... I do not know. I don't even know... Myself."

She ran her fingers over her bare arm, as if cold, and I embraced her tightly. We didn't move for some time, and then she smiled at me - softly.

"Would you mind... Reading to me, tonight?"

It was a cold enough night as it was, and I didn't have the largest or comfiest bed. But climbing under the sheets together, feeling her constantly moving against me, was warm enough. We refused to read any of the books either of us had gotten today - since she swore she would read those on her own. Instead, I read several of the books in easy reach near the bedside. _John Carter of Mars,_ which she found dreadfully boring, Poe's _Pit and the Pendulum_ , which she adored, and the oddly gilded collection of Winnie the Pooh short stories my Aunt had sent me - many years ago. She drifted off as I read the latter, no longer able to watch the words as I read, or even focus on the pictures. I myself was growing tired, and at some point the light faded around me and the day ended, even as some part of me, still awake, didn't want to wake up.


	11. Parallel Pathways

Waking up to farewells is one of the worst things in the world.

You always tell yourself that you're ready - at least I do - but you never are. 

And there's a fantasy, however distant, that if you just keep your eyes closed - maybe, just maybe, this time it won't have to be a farewell. And you can stay close to the person you love without fear of them disappearing.

... Perhaps it was selfishness on my part, and nothing more.

Liryl had already been awake for some time, staring at the ceiling with a practiced ease I was familiar with. She'd been idly flipping through the picturebook from the last night, not truly staring at it, but simply passing the time. She met my morning-bleary eyes with a crooked smile that wasn't entirely as confident as she wished it was.

"Good morning, you. I... Thought I might try to make you some breakfast, but... I just couldn't..."

She shrugged helplessly. 

"Breakfast is overrated. I mean, I mostly just drink coffee and get to work most days - "

"You shouldn't do that. Please... Take better care of yourself."

"Don't you think I take decent enough care of myself?"

I grinned, but she didn't reply with a smile.

"No."

Outside, the clouds had thickened, but without the promise of rain; simply vast and ponderous overhead.

Liryl managed to affect a tiny, fragile smile - enough to reassure herself, and me, just a bit.

"But I'm sure you'll be... Fine. Besides... I'd be one to talk."

The two of us were silent as we dressed and I prepared a very simple breakfast. I know I wanted to talk - I think we both did - but the words just wouldn't come, no matter what I tried. I stuttered and kept finding things to send with her; a walkman, several CDs of embarrassingly bad music, an old television and VCR that probably wouldn't even work unless she could figure out some clever method to store and use electricity for it, more books - but somehow the act of preparing ourselves served as a way of pretending that things wouldn't have to happen.

"Wait."

I'd gotten halfway to the keys for my car, without saying a word. I felt a little nauseous, but her voice was enough to bring me back to something approaching reality.

"Please wait. I... Could you..."

She closed her eyes tightly.

"Sign this, please."

It was one of the book she'd gotten from before - not mine, actually, but one of the others from the sale counter. I drew my signature twice - in bad cursive that didn't at all reflect well on my calligraphy, and in a block print similar enough to the font on the book jacket that she could tell what I'd written. She laughed quietly, but refused my attempt to sign my actual work.

"It doesn't matter where it's signed. I just wanted... To have it, is all."

My keys weighed heavily in my pocket. Looking past her for something, anything, I removed the schematic of the lighthouse from the wall and placed it on the table in front of her.

"This is literally the absolute least suitable thing I have, but..." Her smile was painful, and she shook her head - leaving only to return with the collection of Milne stories from earlier. 

Her signature was languid and ornate, at least to my eye. I couldn't read it at all, and yet somehow... I clutched the children's book tightly to me, and wondered if keeping it close would prevent us from having to leave - though it wouldn't, of course.

She moved forward tentatively, her wheels getting caught in the ancient and cheap rug on the floor; perhaps accidentally, and perhaps on purpose. She tumbled into me and pinned me to the floor, holding me for what must have been an hour. Neither of us moved, and neither of us said a word.

Finally, she pulled back into her chair, smiling faintly. Whatever happened - she knew, and I did too. That was enough.

"You must... Take care of yourself. And... For me, if you could perhaps... Try to capture all of this, everything that you love..."

"You, too. I mean, I suppose it's my duty, right? To keep the memories of this place; to keep the memories of every place we know."

To keep the memories of each other.

"It is our duty... And I won't... I cannot forget."

Hand in hand, we left. And in that grey and rainless sky, she left. And the world I knew returned to the way it had been, as if nothing in that week had mattered - even though it had in ways only we remembered.


	12. Without Endings

Perhaps a year had passed, perhaps five. 

Time is one of those weird things that bounces around a lot, or so I'm told. Jeremiah was pained by that explanation, but - I understood it enough as a writer. You wake up one morning, still feeling as young or as old as you've always felt, or always remember feeling; only to realize you are not as young or as old as you thought you were. In any case; juggling increased commercial success that lasted only long enough to land a job copy-writing with sudden family reunions and cheering on your friend's daughter (third place!) as she goes to her first Science Fair is a maze of time.

Worse even then the mazes back at the Pier, now closed for renovations (temporarily, thankfully. I don't think it'd be possible for me to keep sane without a supply of food that can be easily made on the days my brain is half-words and half-clouds, and ne'er the twain shall meet).

The town's grown - a lot. People are a lot more interconnected these days - everyone is. And like I'd always thought... I guess I'm not used to it. There's so much promise to it; people are able to share their triumphs and failures instantaneously, from all over the world. Maybe that's what gets me most - you end up realizing that with all the wonders of the modern age, it's still hard, if not impossible, to be with those you care for most, when you need to be there for them.

My aunt passed on when I was attending a book-signing deal. It was stupid. I actually got the news in the middle of it, and my face froze up entirely. I remember people thinking I was being coy, or smug, and just kind of nodding emptily. It hadn't been painful, apparently - sudden, they said. As if it was a certain thing, one way or the other.

But the more things pass and change, the more I realize - that's a good thing. People are gone, not forgotten; and I've kept my part up in trying to remember them, whatever happens to us all. Perhaps one day, no one will be capable of remembering anything at all, and the world itself will forget about us after we finish forgetting about it. But in itself... That's kind of a peace.

And until that time comes - 

The notebooks I've been writing in my spare time must seem like a random assortment of field notes and vignettes, illustrated with increasingly bad and resigned attempts to - well - illustrate them. But they're something. My way of keeping the people I've known remembered; and through them, even though copywriting isn't exactly what I'd had in mind when I knew I was a writer... I'm happier now then I was before. Not everything is perfect, or even good - but that's not how the world is. It isn't fair; and in it's capriciousness, Earth shows us love. It's up to us to return the favor.

That was why, one dark and damp summer evening, I was so engrossed in writing down the events of the day that I didn't hear it at first; a faint and quiet tapping. Maybe a thrush or something?

It kept knocking for awhile, and I realized as a chill crept over my spine that the sound was coming from my window. Something familiar and terrified pushed at the corner of my mind, telling me to get up and run, and I didn't realize why until I finished the page I was on and irritably looked at the window.

The Birdman, in all it's mechanical splendor, was patiently boring a hole through my window in an attempt to claw through and 'open' it, and possibly the wall, up.

I'd like to pretend my response was more elegant and cool then it was, but I think I fell over myself. Possibly screamed. Only after hyperventilating for a few moments did I realize that it hadn't come to assassinate me in my sleep; it moved more haltingly then before, and was clearly not entirely repaired. For another thing - tied around it's neck was a message, in something that looked like vellum; or perhaps a kind of paper that this world had yet to see, and never again would.

Running out my front door without even putting my shoes on, I made my way to the Birdman - who had realized that the window was not an entryway, and that if the window wasn't a door, perhaps the doorway was a door. It slowly moved towards me, halting and letting out a clattering caw as I approached. It made no move to attack me, simply watching with a curiousness that I recalled even from our previous encounter; I can only imagine that Liryl had encouraged it as she fixed the damaged machine over the years.

As for the letter...

I won't tell you everything it said, though it started with a phrase about the two things we take for granted every day - one more thing included.

Some memories are to be shared, and some aren't.

It wasn't written in the best English; it was grammatically correct but terse, without real metaphor or creativity. It went on for some time - or maybe I read it multiple times.

Though Jeremiah had destroyed his work entirely, he had given the fundamentals to Liryl; and she had created her own portal, temporary and unstable as it was. The letter itself - I suppose it was a request, really. 

I accepted it.

So... This is the last message you'll probably read from me, on this side. I've asked Jeremiah to seal the rest of this away; a memory that won't mean much to anyone else besides us. Himself, Amanda, me - and you. Whoever you are, if you've read this far; I guess we've shared a lot of memories together, haven't we?

Some years ago, I thought things had ended - but things don't truly end. We change. People change - even as they stay the same. And that will be the case when there are no more people to be found.

But even still, though this isn't a really an ending - for us, it's happy. I think things will continue on - and perhaps some day we'll even find someone else in Planet; or perhaps not, and it'll be empty until the stars around it die, or someone opens the portals once more.

If you want to imagine what happens next - imagine two friends meeting after a long time apart; lovers who grow old together, and remember things that the other forgets. And - if I may...

Try to remember things for those around you. Memorialize the things you love, and even the things that you don't. Find happiness where you can, and let sorrow pass over you, instead of trying to fight it. And know that even at your most alone - you are not alone, say those who came before you and those who may come next.

Well - I imagine I've probably pontificated enough. I don't know if it was on par with the teachings of the priests - or that it even has to be. But wherever you are, and whomever you may be; I wish you luck, and love, and life. May the Earth look after you, and you after it. Perhaps we'll even meet in somewhere or some time - I look forward to that, immensely. Until that day comes - take care.


End file.
